Assisted suicide’ bill to be voted on today by politicians in London

Today, Friday, 29th November 2024,  the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will be voted on in the Westminster Parliament.  If enacted, this Bill will facilitate a change in the law to permit assisted suicide in Northern Ireland. 

Archbishop Eamon Martin said, “For all those who cherish a culture of life across these islands, the introduction of law to permit assisted suicide is an affront to a safe and protective society.  Today, I am strongly appealing to MPs from Northern Ireland to appose this assisted suicide Bill when they vote on it tomorrow in the House of Commons.

“As a society we are defined by the extent to which we care for our most vulnerable persons including those suffering from disabilities, terminal illness or otherwise nearing the end of life.  While this is a Gospel imperative, it is noteworthy that medical and healthcare professionals are also gravely concerned at an evolving political ideology which would interfere with their calling to ‘do no harm’ and which would legally erode the right to life at all stages.”

On 24 June last the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference published a pastoral letter Freedom to Live Fully, Until Death Comes reflecting the Church’s teaching on care at the end of life, along with the accompanying video Through The Valley.  The pastoral letter stated:

‘By legislating for assisted suicide or euthanasia, the State would contribute to undermining the confidence of people who are terminally ill, who want to be cared for and want to live life as fully as possible until death naturally comes.  People who are dying are entitled to be accompanied in a holistic way.  We believe that palliative care services need to be more widely available, in hospitals and hospices and in the community.’

To view Through the Valley, a short movie drawing on the experience of family members and healthcare professionals that explores how we accompany people in the final stages of life; and to read  the pastoral letter Freedom to Live Fully, Until Death Comes, see https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2024/06/24/bishops-statement-on-end-of-life-care-freedom-to-live-fully-until-death-comes/

+ Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland