Tim Farron: 'We should not walk away' from assisted dying debate

Today has been the busiest Friday in the House of Commons for years.

Usually MPs are in our constituencies, focusing on local issues. But today, the Commons chamber was packed. Over 160 MPs sought to express their views on a bill to introduce assisted dying for adults with a terminal illness and less than six months to live.

If it becomes law, this will change forever the way in which our society views life and death. Our newspapers, social media feeds and MPs’ inboxes have been filled with passionate and sometimes angry debate.

An 'electric' debate

The discussion today was emotional but largely respectful. MPs were split across party lines. The atmosphere in the chamber was electric and stayed that way. All were acutely aware of the ethical principles at stake.

There were some outstanding and moving contributions. Kim Leadbetter opened the debate with stories of terrible suffering and made her case with the same sober respect as she has led the whole campaign. MP Florence Eshalomi spoke movingly against the bill about how health inequalities in the NHS will only be exacerbated by assisted dying, pointing to her mother’s treatment of sickle cell. Other notable speeches were made by Dr Marie Tidball, Jess Asato, and MP Danny Kruger.

A cross-party group of MPs also tabled an amendment calling for an independent review, public consultation, and an investigation into the adequacy of palliative care, before any decisions are made.

Both sides grounded in compassion

It was clear that the motives of those speaking on both sides were grounded in compassion. Many of us – myself included – have watched close family members suffer at the end of their lives. So I was pleased to be part of a courteous and curious debate.

My position – which I had the opportunity to express, is that legalising assisted dying will compromise the ultimate liberty of our most vulnerable people.

1. Relieving strain on families

First there will be those who feel they ought to die because they want to relieve the strain on their families. More than a third of those who chose assisted dying in Canada gave as their reason that they feared that they were a burden to their loved ones. Yet unless we employ mind readers there are no safeguards that could prevent those people losing their autonomy and their lives.

2. Victims of coercive control

Next we have victims of coercive control. In the domestic violence context we are slowly understanding the power of devious abusers taking over their victims’ lives through insidious coercive control. It often takes years for people to realise they are victims. For those manipulated into declaring that assisted dying is their will, the penny will never drop. They will be dead. In losing their autonomy, they lose their lives.

3. Failure to invest in palliative care

And some will surely choose to die because of our failure to invest in palliative care. In the UK this is a postcode lottery, especially if you are poor or old. People will choose assisted dying to escape their pain because they can’t get the palliative care they need. They will have lost their autonomy and their lives.

4. Mental health crisis

Finally, a senior oncologist opened my eyes this week as they explained that there is almost a pandemic of intense yet undiagnosed despair and depression amongst those with terminal illnesses. To be given a terminal diagnosis is utterly devastating. And so for many, the motivation for opting for assisted death will be due to a personal mental health crisis.

And as we seek to fight against the heartbreak of suicide in so many families, we must not be content to tell them that death is the answer to despair.

With many still undecided ahead of the debate, it was unclear which way the vote would go. In the event, it passed with a majority of 55. Closer than most votes in this place, but a clear win. The bill will now proceed to the next stage: the appointment of a committee to analyse and discuss it line by line. I welcome Kim Leadbeater’s assurances that the committee will reflect the mixed opinion across the House, and will also take evidence from outside organisations.

We should not walk away

Those of us who are dismayed by today’s vote should not shrug and walk away. We now have a responsibility to scrutinise and challenge the provisions of the bill because vulnerable people’s lives are at stake. Many voted in favour to ensure the proposals receive detailed scrutiny, and we must make sure this will happen.

If the result of this process is that assisted dying is legalised in the UK, we shouldn’t be surprised. We have been moving in this direction for a while.

Our culture no longer believes in the deepest human dignity that springs from understanding that each individual is an awesome image-bearer of the Creator God. Instead our worth is based on personal autonomy and the desire for control over our lives no matter the impact on others or on society as a whole.

But when we link someone’s intrinsic value to their abilities and capacity, I have no doubt this will lead to the inclusion of factors such as unbearable suffering, mental anguish, disability and even conditions such as anorexia.

We have seen this in other countries and we know that some are already pressing for the current bill to go further. This will inevitably lead to a world where assisted death is just another service provided by the state.

But we should not despair. We know that those on all sides are motivated by compassion. Death is still too often referred to with embarrassed euphemisms in our culture. Perhaps this will help our society confront our mortality better. Now more than ever we must fight for better palliative care and the funding to do it.

The church must step up all the more to be the champions of the vulnerable, the ill, the disabled, the despairing, and the elderly. Rather than bemoan our culture, let’s cry out to the loving sovereign God of the universe and ask, along with Psalm 82, that he would ‘Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hands of the wicked.’

There is a deep spiritual hunger in our society. Let’s pray that many will be encouraged to consider questions of eternity. And let’s pray that the church can be there to welcome them in and point them to the truth, grace and liberation found in the gospel.