Justin Welby says it is dangerous but is the Archbishop crying ‘Wolf!’ over assisted dying?
This Writer doesn’t think so. As Archbishop of Canterbury, Welby has made many mistakes in the past but I think he’s right to highlight concerns about this on the day the Assisted Dying Bill is first debated in the House of Commons.
Welby told the BBC he believes legalising assisted dying
“opens the way to it broadening out, such that people who are not in that situation [terminally ill] asking for this, or feeling pressured to ask for it”.
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He said he had noted a marked degradation in his lifetime of the idea that “everyone, however useful they are, is of equal worth to society”. He said the disabled, ill and elderly were often overlooked, in a way that would have an impact on whether they might access assisted dying.
He said he did not want people to feel guilty for having such thoughts and added he was worried people would feel compelled to ask to die if they felt like a burden – an idea he said was wrong.
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP introducing the assisted dying bill to Parliament, has told the BBC she disagrees with the archbishop’s “slippery slope” argument, saying the proposal is for people who are terminally ill and suffering at the end of their life.
The article states that polling has consistently shown 60-75 per cent of the British public supports assisted dying for people who are terminally ill and suffering great pain at the end of their lives.
This is true – to a certain extent. Here’s YouGov:
Welby’s concern is “mission creep” – that helping terminally-ill people to die will change into helping anybody die who asks for it because they feel pressured into it. This is an entirely legitimate concern, especially in a society that does not value people with long-term, debilitating illnesses and/or disabilities.
It is possible for the Bill to legislate against this possibility – but it cannot ensure that future law-makers won’t change it to allow exactly what Welby fears.
And how do you feel about it? If you have – or if you can imagine you have – a relative or close friend with a non-terminal illness that causes them a great deal of pain, would you want them to seek assistance in dying, in order to save you and others the physical, emotional and financial burden of looking after them?
Or would you want to keep your valued and cherished companion with you, knowing that there is no telling what good fortune the future may bring?
What would you do?
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Is the Archbishop crying ‘Wolf!’ over assisted dying?
Justin Welby says it is dangerous but is the Archbishop crying ‘Wolf!’ over assisted dying?
This Writer doesn’t think so. As Archbishop of Canterbury, Welby has made many mistakes in the past but I think he’s right to highlight concerns about this on the day the Assisted Dying Bill is first debated in the House of Commons.
Welby told the BBC he believes legalising assisted dying
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP introducing the assisted dying bill to Parliament, has told the BBC she disagrees with the archbishop’s “slippery slope” argument, saying the proposal is for people who are terminally ill and suffering at the end of their life.
The article states that polling has consistently shown 60-75 per cent of the British public supports assisted dying for people who are terminally ill and suffering great pain at the end of their lives.
This is true – to a certain extent. Here’s YouGov:
Welby’s concern is “mission creep” – that helping terminally-ill people to die will change into helping anybody die who asks for it because they feel pressured into it. This is an entirely legitimate concern, especially in a society that does not value people with long-term, debilitating illnesses and/or disabilities.
It is possible for the Bill to legislate against this possibility – but it cannot ensure that future law-makers won’t change it to allow exactly what Welby fears.
And how do you feel about it? If you have – or if you can imagine you have – a relative or close friend with a non-terminal illness that causes them a great deal of pain, would you want them to seek assistance in dying, in order to save you and others the physical, emotional and financial burden of looking after them?
Or would you want to keep your valued and cherished companion with you, knowing that there is no telling what good fortune the future may bring?
What would you do?
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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