Assisted dying: Proper scrutiny was ‘moral necessity’, says bishop as bill falls

Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley, said the more closely the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had been examined, the more concerns came into focus, not fewer, as she spoke in the final day of the Bill in the House of Lords.

“In our context, where questions of life, death, care and conscience are so closely intertwined, the quality of our scrutiny is not a procedural detail—it is a moral necessity,” Bishop Helen-Ann, who was a member of a Select Committee that examined the Bill – told Peers.

“Some may dismiss my contribution as one which is grounded in a faith, but this is as legitimate and significant as any other viewpoint – grounded in faith, belief or none.  

“Whilst my faith informs my alarm at our designation of dignity or the lack of it, it is from my experience on the Select Committee, that I have found that the more closely we have examined this Bill, the more concerns have come into focus, not fewer.

"For a Bill of this magnitude in terms of societal change, the highest level of scrutiny is imperative."

The Private Member’s Bill would allow someone with a terminal diagnosis and six months or less to live to be provided with drugs to end their life if they have capacity and meet the eligibility criteria.

It has been going through Parliament for the past year and a half but ran out of time today before the current session of Parliament comes to an end.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, speaking briefly in the debate, emphasised the shared wish of both opponents and proponents of the Bill that those who are terminally ill should be treated with compassion and be able to die in a pain-free and dignified way. She paid tribute to the ‘enormous’ amount of work that had gone into the Committee Stage of the Bill.

She said: “I oppose this Bill in principle, both as a priest and as a nurse. But what is clear is that there are some things that unify us - whether we are in support of this Bill, or we oppose it, we are unified by the fact that what we want is as many people to die in a dignified, pain-free and compassionate way, with the least possible fear that they can have.

“I also believe that we are unified in that we do believe there needs to be investment in palliative care now.”

Bishop Helen-Ann said there had been an acknowledgement—even from those closely involved in the Bill—that it was not yet in a “settled or satisfactory form”.

She said: “When such admissions are made, it is incumbent upon us to listen with care.”

Speaking of her own pastoral ministry, she said she was often reminded that how we care for those at the end of life is a measure of our common life together.

“That care must be marked by compassion, by clarity, and by a steadfast commitment to protect the most vulnerable,” she said.

“For that reason, I believe we must continue to proceed with great caution. Until the questions that have been raised are answered more fully, and until this Bill has received the depth of scrutiny it requires, it would be irresponsible to allow it to move forward.”

• You can read Bishop Helen-Ann's full speech here.