Assisted suicide 'profoundly Christian,' former archbishop says in break with church

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A former archbishop of Canterbury urged British members of Parliament to debate a law regarding assisted dying and claimed helping terminally ill people end their lives is "profoundly Christian."

"It is profoundly Christian to do all we can to ensure nobody suffers against their wishes," wrote Lord George Carey in a submission to MPs on health select committee about the issue, according to the Telegraph.

Carey served as the Church of England's ceremonial head from 1991 to 2002. Though retired from senior church leadership, he remains a member of the House of Lords. His view on assisted dying is at odds with the position of the church, which holds that "it is essential that both the law and medical practice embrace a presumption in favor of life."

"Some people believe they will find meaning in their own suffering in their final months and weeks of life," Carey said. "I respect that, but it cannot be justified to expect others to share that belief."

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Lord George Carey, pictured here with Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, served as the Church of England's ceremonial head from 1991 to 2002. (AFP PHOTO/MARTYN HAYHOW via Getty Images)

He went on to argue that assisted dying should be available "only for those who show a clear minded and persistent resolution to seek it," but that such is "an act of great generosity, kindness and human love to help those when it is the will of the only person that matters — the sufferer himself."

He described as "a strange situation" that a patient has the right to decline life-sustaining treatment, but does not have the right to accept life-ending medicine "that would allow them to die in peace."

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He urged the committee to "send the message that we live in a compassionate society that has the courage to confront complexity, not one that bases its rules on fear or misunderstanding."

Carey came out in support of assisted dying legislation when U.K. leaders debated it in 2014, when a push for it failed.

The Houses of Parliament in London on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The Church of England argued against an assisted dying law, warning in its submission to MPs that they exhibit a "slippery slope in operation" despite supposed safeguards, pointing to places such as Canada, Oregon, California, Australia and New Zealand.

"Suggested measures put in place might include assisted suicide being conducted by one’s own GP only, a court deciding in favor of an individual case and a named social worker being attributed to the person seeking assisted suicide," the church wrote.

Current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby leads the opening service of the 15th Lambeth Conference at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent on July 31, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)

"Given the workload already existing and the level of abuse in recent years, both in some NHS Trusts and the private sector, these safeguards are unlikely to prove effective," they continued.

"GPs and others cannot be expected to know all their patients intimately enough to carry out this role."

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The Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has also come out against assisted suicide laws, with Bishop of Portsmouth Philip Egan recently advising the clergy and parishioners of the British crown dependency of Jersey to "mobilize" and "speak out" against such proposals.