Archbishop Moth: "Improve compassionate, high-quality care to genuinely help the terminally ill"

Image M Mazur CBCEW

Source: CBCEW

Archbishop Richard Moth, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Bishops' Conference of England & Wales said: "I urge Members of Parliament to reject The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which aims to legalise assisted suicide as it returns to the House of Commons tomorrow, 11 September. This bill is wrong in principle and is also deeply flawed. If passed, it could lead to vulnerable people feeling pressured into ending their lives.

"Concerns that have been raised around the practicalities of the Bill remain unresolved. The Bill undermines freedom of conscience for medical professionals and care workers.

"Many professional bodies argued against this Bill, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of Physicians. Disability rights groups remain highly concerned and consider it to be dangerous.

"The inadequate and uneven provision of palliative care across the country has been recognised during this debate, even by the prime minister. To genuinely help the terminally ill we need an improvement in compassionate, high-quality palliative care, and proper hospice funding.

"I urge MPs to prevent this flawed bill from succeeding."