Assisted Dying in the UK: Let’s Win Argument on Principle

The first principle that opponents of the bill have deployed is to emphasize the inherent danger of coercion, such that the proponents’ main argument of individual autonomy in decisions about the end of life is turned completely on its head. It should be noted that the Church of England’s bishops (26 of whom hold seats in the House of Lords) are remarkably united on this topic. For example, the Bishop of London, the Rt. Revd. Sarah Mullaly, expressed in the first day of the two-day debate her concern “for those who will face internal and subtle pressure to end their lives in the absence of adequate palliative and social care, or to avoid being a burden to their families. I understand the fear of many that they may be offered free assisted death before they are offered the care and equipment that they may live.”