Assisted suicide: Is it really inevitable?

This article is the Editorial piece in our recent Social Issues Bulletin – Issue 57 which is available to download here.

When Kim Leadbeater MP announced she would bring forward an assisted suicide bill in the House of Commons, my immediate reaction was one of concern that it might pass. This was no mere defeatism. We have seen numerous assisted suicide bills fail over the years, with the last Commons vote occurring in September 2015, when 330 MPs opposed the bill and 118 voted in favour. But despite past outcomes, I sensed that the situation had shifted in significant ways. So why was I more apprehensive this time?

For many reasons. Firstly, nine years since the last vote is a long time in politics, and the current Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, supports assisted suicide. Reports indicate that No 10 placed considerable pressure on Leadbeater to bring forward a bill on assisted suicide so that the PM could fulfil his promise to Esther Rantzen to hold a vote on the issue during this parliament – hardly the ideal approach to forming policy! Added to this is the fact that hundreds of MPs elected since 2015 have yet to declare their stance. Given that most of these are Labour MPs, it was reasonable to assume that a large number might support the bill.

There is also the prevailing cultural mood of our time to consider. Individual autonomy has become, for many, the ultimate virtue. This proposed assisted suicide bill seeks to increase personal autonomy, aligning with the cultural sentiment famously summed up by poet William Ernest Henley: ‘I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.’ Given the appearance of widespread public support for assisted suicide in recent polls, I initially found it difficult to see how the bill would be defeated.

Reasons for cautious optimism

But since then, several key developments have offered more grounds for optimism. Firstly, there has been more caution in the mainstream media than I had anticipated. The Times published a cautious leader on the issue, and The Telegraph has also taken a wary stance. Meanwhile, the Mail Online continues to publish alarming stories from countries where assisted suicide is legal, and The Guardian has carried some thoughtful contributions. It is often the case that the more one examines assisted suicide, the clearer it becomes that it simply cannot work in practice; the associated risks are just too numerous.

Then there was the recent intervention by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who announced that he would vote against the bill. Streeting has been open about his personal struggle with the issue, and in 2015, he actually voted in favour of assisted suicide. But he has since changed his mind, and the reason he provided is striking: he said that palliative care provision is not consistently available across the country. This means that if assisted suicide is introduced, people might choose it not out of genuine desire, but because they feel they have no other choice. That is not autonomy.

Streeting is not the only senior minister to declare opposition to the bill. The Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has also stated that she will vote against it. This is significant, as both Streeting and Mahmood head the ministries that would bear the greatest responsibility for implementing and enforcing any law on assisted suicide. Their opposition is likely to influence many Labour MPs.

Further cause for cautious optimism arose from a recent debate in the Welsh Parliament, where Members voted on a non-binding pro-assisted suicide motion. Although the Welsh Senedd lacks the legislative authority to enact assisted suicide, the motion could have symbolically bolstered the pro-assisted suicide side. However, Members of the Senedd voted against it, by 26 to 19, with nine abstentions. Welsh Labour members were notably divided. A clear message emerged during the debate: why should we support assisted suicide legislation when palliative care services are already in such a fragile state?

For all these reasons, as I look towards the upcoming Second Reading of the assisted suicide bill on 29 November, my perspective has shifted. It is by no means a foregone conclusion that the legislation will pass. Indeed, there is a real possibility that it may be defeated.

Prayer, action, and the message of a better story

But this is no reason for complacency. We must maintain pressure and continue to make the case against a change in the law. Let’s focus on demonstrating to MPs that no assisted suicide law can truly be made safe. There is strong evidence, including from Canada, that suggests that legalising assisted suicide harms palliative care provision. Please pray about this legislation. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:10-12:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

At the risk of being controversial, Satan is pleased by assisted suicide. He is pleased with the notion that it is compassionate, with the worldview that elevates human reasoning above God’s sovereign rule. He delights in the fact that it can usher people into a lost eternity. Please pray that this bill does not succeed.

And if you have not yet done so, please contact your MP. Urge them to vote against the bill. You could remind them that in Canada, where assisted suicide was legalised in 2016, the initial safeguards were removed within five years, and eligibility criteria were widened. Surely, you might argue to your MP, the same would happen here. No assisted suicide law can ever be made truly safe from abuse or exploitation. And you can urge your MP to advocate for genuine investment in palliative care services, which would end the current postcode lottery in palliative provision across England and Wales.

Finally, let us remember what God declares in his word: Exodus 20:13 says ‘You shall not murder’, and 1 Samuel 2:6 reminds us, ‘The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.’ We are not granted the right to decide to end our lives – that decision belongs to God alone. 

True compassion does not offer lethal drugs as an answer to despair. Instead, we affirm the inherent dignity of every person, made in God’s own image. We share in one another’s suffering, declaring a simple yet beautiful truth: it is good that you exist. It is good that you are in the world. That is the better story we have to offer.