On Friday, MPs backed the legalisation of assisted dying in England and Wales. Although the House of Lords may tweak and amend the legislation, it looks all but certain that assisted dying will become legal in some form in the UK.
Evangelicals have been members of a broad coalition of groups that have spent the last few months tirelessly fighting for this bill to be defeated. And many of us have prayed without ceasing that this day would never come.
However, now that the Third Reading has passed and assisted dying is set to become law, we must now pivot to thinking about how we can live and speak for Jesus in this new era in British society. Countries like Canada and the Netherlands show us that once assisted dying becomes legal, it will not remain in a secluded corner of the health system to be easily ignored.
The legalisation of assisted dying marks a significant shift in both healthcare and society at large and will inevitably start to impact our churches and communities.
Here are three thoughts on how we, as a church, can begin to prepare ourselves and our congregations for a post assisted dying society.
1. Having a clear theology of suicide
The subject of suicide is deeply uncomfortable to discuss in almost any context, and there is understandable reluctance to teach on this topic from the pulpit. However, the pro-assisted-dying campaigners have successfully painted a narrative of suicide (with medical assistance) as a positive, liberating, and even heroic way to exit this world. We would be naive to assume that this narrative has not captured the imaginations of at least some church-goers.
This is now an urgent need for us to grasp the nettle and have a clear taught theology of suicide. As image-bearers of God, all human beings have immeasurable intrinsic value, including those nearing the end of their lives. Therefore, we have no right to take human life — even our own.
"We must urgently and explicitly set out the Christian case against suicide in our church communities, including from the pulpit."
The imago dei prohibits both homicide and suicide. As God says to Noah in Genesis 9v6: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.”
There is an important distinction to be made between suicide, which the Bible prohibits, and suicidality or suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts are relatively common amongst God’s people both in Scripture (1 Kings 19v4, Job 3v20-22, 2 Corinthians 1v8) and in church history. The church’s approach to those experiencing suicidal thoughts must combine deep pastoral sensitivity and a willingness to consider seeking professional input.
There will be many in our churches who are experiencing or have experienced suicidal thoughts. And there will inevitably be some who are eligible for assisted dying once the bill receives royal assent. Therefore, we must urgently and explicitly set out the Christian case against suicide in our church communities, including from the pulpit.
2. Being conscious about conscience
Secondly, given the potentially wide-reaching consequences of assisted dying, we must all think through and engage with the inevitable conscience decisions that are coming down the track.
As a doctor, I may refuse to prescribe or draw up the lethal injection. But what about the nurse who is asked to insert the intravenous cannula? Or the taxi driver who is booked to take the patient to the assisted dying facility? Or the friend who is asked to be in the room for the patient’s final moments? Or the vicar who is asked to conduct the last rites? How close do we get before becoming implicated in the act of assisted dying?
These questions require deep reflection and consideration, and individuals will have to think through their particular occupations and roles. But as churches we need to lay down frameworks to help people make these complex conscience decisions.
One helpful framework is the Catholic idea of “cooperation with evil." This framework provides various parameters by which we can gauge how implicated we are in the sins of others. Our involvement can be judged by parameters such as “proximal vs. distal," “direct vs. indirect," “intentional vs. unintentional," and “indispensable vs. dispensable." If our actions are proximal, direct, intentional and indispensable to the sinful act, we are likely to be morally implicated. If our involvement is distal, indirect, unintentional and dispensable, we are less likely to be implicated.
A detailed exploration of the theology of conscience and the cooperation with evil is beyond the remit of this article. However, we must be willing to think through these complex ethical issues in our churches.
3. Advocating for palliative care
Thirdly and finally, Christians have the potential to be powerful advocates for a better alternative to assisted dying. The palliative care specialty was pioneered by the remarkable Christian nurse Dame Cicely Saunders whose mantra was: “You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.”
Palliative care is one of the greatest Christian innovations that was founded on the principle that all people, including the sick, elderly, and dying, are precious image-bearers of God who deserve care, compassion, love, and the most effective of medical symptom relief right up until their final breath.
“Euthanasia” literally means “good” (“eu”) “death (“thanotos”). However, from a Christian point of view, a good death does not mean taking our deaths into our own hands in a final act of defiance over nature. A good death is one where we seek out the very best of medical care to relieve our symptoms and, through our final actions and decisions, we declare our trust in the God who carries us through life, death, and into the eternal joy that awaits us.
There is so much more to be said on how the church should respond to the assisted dying vote. But ultimately, will we be a church that blissfully ignores this major societal change coming down the track? Or can we get on the front foot in supporting and equipping our brothers and sisters to live faithfully in our post assisted dying world?
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