Disability rights expert urges Catholics to heed Bishop's call to oppose assisted suicide Bill

Dr Miro Griffiths

Source: Diocese of Shrewsbury

A Wirral-based disability rights expert has appealed to Catholics of the Diocese of Shrewsbury to heed the words of Bishop Mark Davies and ask politicians to oppose a new Bill to legalise assisted suicide.

In a short film, Dr Miro Griffiths referred to the May pastoral letter of Bishop Davies on assisted suicide and asked the faithful to actively advocate that the Assisted Dying Bill of Baroness Meacher is "unsafe".

"I ask you to listen to the words of the Bishop of Shrewsbury and I ask you to become informed and be engaged in the debates around assisted suicide and assisted dying," said Dr Griffiths, a research fellow in disability studies and social policy at the University of Leeds

"I implore you to write to your local MPs and local peers and those who are in the Parliamentary system and advocate that this Bill is not safe and that this Bill will provide a dangerous situation for people who are disabled and for people with health conditions and impairments," he continued.

The message from Dr Griffiths, who was awarded an MBE by the Queen in 2014, comes as the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales published new guidance to Catholics on the dangers of the Bill, which will receive its Second Reading in the House of Lords in mid-October.

The bishops tell Catholics to "please consider writing to Members of the House of Lords or Commons" and ask them to oppose the Bill", emphasising in particular stories of personal experience or expertise.

They said: "Whilst there are good rational arguments for defeating this legislation, this is a battle for hearts and minds and so don't be afraid to share your own experiences of 'dying well' and 'end of life care' if you have them through your work or personal life."

The Bill would license doctors to supply lethal drugs, on request, to terminally ill patients so they can commit suicide, an act which at present is punishable by up to 14 years in jail under the Suicide Act of 1961.

Proposed safeguards include limiting assistance to people who are terminally ill and with a prognosis of six months of life remaining, who have mental capacity and a settled wish to die. Provision of the drugs must be authorised by two doctors and a High Court judge.

But campaigners argue, however, that the safeguards are meaningless and simply symbolic and that they will be quickly undermined or swept aside, following the experience of other countries which have legalised assisted suicide or euthanasia.

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury issued a pastoral letter against assisted suicide just four days after the First Reading of the Meacher Bill.

Yesterday, he renewed his appeal. "Parliament's emphatic rejection in recent years of proposals for assisted suicide must not lead to any complacency in being ready to stand up for the sanctity of human life and standing beside the most vulnerable once again threatened by the euthanasia lobby," he said.

"A new Bill is being brought before Parliament in the autumn backed by a well-orchestrated campaign using the language of compassion to authorise members of our medical and caring professions to assist in killing."

"By any measure this is a seismic change in society, the medical profession and in the way we have always viewed the care of the sick and the dying.

"Now is the time to raise our voices. We each have a voice and perhaps also a story to share with those who represent us in Parliament or with the peers who will first debate this Bill in the House of Lords.

"We can't leave this task to someone else or delay giving our witness to the value of life and the care of the most vulnerable which has underpinned our society from the beginning."

Watch Dr Griffiths' film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7laR1I4rAY

Guidance on how to contact a peer or a MPs can be found on Parliament's website: parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/