Christians urged to sign on-line petition to stop ‘euthanasia by back door’
24 April 2006
The Evangelical Alliance today called on the Government to provide more and better palliative care in order to stem calls for the legalised killing of the terminally ill. The Alliance’s plea comes in advance of Lord Joffe’s ‘Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill’ Bill, due to get its second reading in the House of Lords on 12 May.
Under the Bill, which has been labelled ‘euthanasia by the back door’, a doctor would be allowed to give a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs to an adult patient who was ‘suffering unbearably’ from a ‘terminal illness’ who requested such a prescription and who ‘did not lack capacity’ to make the request.
Dr Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs at the Evangelical Alliance, said, “Doctors have a duty to alleviate suffering. They should kill the pain, not the patient. It is problematic that many patients do not have access to good palliative care. Palliative care therefore should be extended and improved through increasing government funding. The hospice movement exemplifies how people can die with dignity, peace and minimal suffering. Christians in particular should be challenged to become involved in supporting it.”
He added, “The present law reflects society’s judgement that the lives of all patients are worthwhile, even if they might lose sight of their own worth and ask for their lives to be ended. If assisted suicide was legalised in this country the ‘right to die’ could easily become ‘the duty to die’, particularly for those who feel that they are a burden to loved ones or to society.”
A recent survey commissioned by Help the Aged confirmed that many 
elderly people are left without proper palliative care and end up dying undignified deaths. The Alliance is a key supporter of Care NOT Killing (CNK), a new UK based alliance of individuals and organisations which opposes Lord Joffe’s Bill. CNK and the Evangelical Alliance are encouraging people to sign an online petition against the proposed Bill.
The petition can be signed online at www.carenotkilling.org.uk/petition or downloaded as a PDF for distribution amongst those who wish to support the campaign. People are also being urged to write both to Peers to encourage them to attend the Lords’ debates and oppose the Bill and also to write to their MPs to encourage them to oppose the Bill in other ways. On its website CNK gives guidance on the best ways to approach politicians.
Peter Saunders, General Secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship, another key supporter of CNK, commented, “Persisting requests for assisted suicide are extremely rare. Experience shows that they disappear when patients' physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs are properly provided for and therefore our key priority must be to improve provision of good palliative care.“
Both Don Horrocks and Peter Saunders will be speaking for the Christian Broadcasting Council on aspects of the proposed Bill in the House of Commons on Thursday, 27 April.
Media Contact:
Liz Hogarth Evangelical Alliance 0207 207 2115 l.hogarth@eauk.org
Notes to editors: The Evangelical Alliance UK, formed in 1846, is an umbrella group representing over one million evangelical Christians in the UK and is made up of member churches, organisations and individuals. As part of a movement ‘uniting to change society’, the Alliance promotes unity and truth, acts as an evangelical voice to the state, society and the wider Church, and provides resources to help members and other evangelicals live out their faith in their communities.
Care Not Killing is a new UK based alliance of individuals and organisations (including the Evangelical Alliance) which has three key aims: 1) To bring together human rights groups, healthcare groups, palliative care groups and faith based organisations with the aim of promoting more and better palliative care. 2) To ensure that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed during the lifetime of the current Parliament. 3) To inform public opinion against further weakening the law. For more information www.carenotkilling.co.uk
The Christian Broadcasting Council is a Christian organisation which encourages the proclamation of the gospel through the electronic media. CBC draws its members from churches of all denominations, from both Houses of Parliament and from Christians in broadcasting and the media. Each year CBC arrange discussions and debates to further Christian influence through the media.
