A leading Catholic research institute has warned that legalising assisted suicide in England would put an “extra burden” on sick and disabled people.
Lord Falconer has attempted to introduce legislation to change the law on assisted suicide for the seventh time through a new Bill, which has been introduced in the House of Lords. The Bill would enable terminally ill adults with six months or fewer to end their lives.
However, Professor David Albert Jones, Director of Oxford-based Catholic institute Anscombe Bioethics Centre, pointed to the experiences of Oregon and Canada, where assisted suicide is legal, as a warning sign. He stated that the proposed Bill would cause terminally ill to believe they are a burden.
“Legalising assisted suicide would place an extra burden on sick and disabled people by forcing them to ask if they are a burden to others,” Professor Jones said. “In Oregon, the number seeking death in part because they feel a burden to others has increased significantly over time (up to 54.2% in 2021). In Canada in 2022, 4,625 people (35.3%) had their lives ended because they felt they were a burden to others.”
The issue has come to the fore after former journalist and television presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer, called for a vote on assisted dying earlier this year.
New Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who personally supports a change in the law, promised to provide parliamentary time for a vote on legalising assisted suicide.
In Scotland, Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament. Like Lord Falconer, Liam McArthur has said that his Bill will only apply to people with terminal illnesses, but Professor Jones rejected these claims. He said: “The Scottish and English Bills begin with terminal illness, but there is every reason to believe that it would later expand further as has happened in other countries.
“In 2016, of seven countries with assisted suicide or euthanasia, three limited eligibility to terminal illness (Canada, Colombia, and the United States). In 2021, two out of three expanded their laws to cover people who did not have a terminal illness (Canada and Colombia).”