The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that legalizing assisted dying is dangerous and risks turning the right to die into an obligation.
His intervention came before a private member's bill aimed at providing options at the end of life was formally introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Justin Welby speaking on BBC Newsnight “I think this approach is both dangerous and leads us down an even more dangerous path. And everywhere else this approach has been taken, it's leading us down a slippery slope.”
and Written for Daily Mail “The right to end one's life can all too easily, too accidentally, turn into an obligation to do so,” he said.
Furthermore, “even the best of intentions can have unintended consequences, and our desire to help our neighbors can inadvertently cause even more suffering and suffering for the people we are trying to help.” “I'm worried that it could open the door to suffering,” he added.
The bill has been introduced by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, who said any changes to the law “could be one of the most significant changes this country has ever seen”. states.
Asked about Ms Welby's concerns that the introduction of a limited right to assisted dying was bringing about broader changes in other parts of the world, she said: “That's not true.”
She cited the U.S. state of Oregon, which has not expanded terminally ill patients' right to assisted dying since it was introduced in 1997.
Leadbeater said: “I have great respect for the Archbishop of Canterbury, but that's not true. There are places where this is an option for people at the end of their lives. Oregon has been here for 25 years. I think this is where the law doesn't expand and stays the same.”
She told the BBC: “We are clear that the law needs to change, but we need to get the details right.
“This is about terminally ill patients. This is not about disabled people or mentally ill people; this is about terminally ill patients.”
She told the program that she wanted to know a “deadline” for patient diagnoses, adding: “I was very keen to make sure that medical professionals were included in this conversation, so I've been meeting with medical providers, including hospices. “There is,” he said. ”.
Leadbeater was asked on the show if he wanted the bill to be signed off by two medical experts and a judge, to which he replied:
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“And we do that at as many layers as possible to make sure that people have this really important choice that I strongly believe they deserve when they're facing the end of their lives. Just to make sure it's a robust process to get to that point.”
Prominent supporters of the legalization of assisted dying include Dame Esther Rantzen, who has a terminal illness and has urged MPs to support the right to choose to shorten one's life rather than shorten one's life. The government has written a letter to the public asking for the following.
The text of the bill has not yet been made public, but some supporters say it includes not only the terminally ill but also those facing intolerable suffering.
Members of Parliament will have free votes in Parliament and will decide according to their conscience rather than along party lines. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously supported assisted dying and personally promised Mr Rantzen that he would make time for a debate and vote on the issue.
Mr Starmer previously said he was “personally in favor of changing the law” and supported changing the law when the issue was last voted on in the House of Commons nine years ago.
Last week he called the issue a “really important issue” and said any changes to the law must be “effective”, but insisted the government would remain neutral in the vote.
