The rights and wrongs of assisted dying Assisted dying is one of the moral dilemmas of our age, the flip side to benign advances in medicine and longevity. When Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, says he has changed his mind on assisted dying, we should take notice. The former archbishop, normally regarded as a conservative voice within the Church of England, set out a compelling case for changing the law. Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill will be debated in the House of Lords on Friday. “Today we face a terrible paradox,” Lord Carey wrote in the Daily Mail. “In strictly observing accepted teaching about the sanctity of life, the church could actually be sanctioning anguish and pain — the very opposite of the Christian message. Indeed, there is nothing anti-Christian about embracing the reforms that Lord Falconer’s bill offers.” Lord Carey is not reflecting the Church of England’s position. Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote in The Times: “What sort of society would we be creating if we were to allow this sword of Damocles to hang over... every vulnerable, terminally ill person in the country.” The trouble with this debate between the Archbishop of Canterbury and his predecessor is that it is possible for two people taking opposite positions both to be right. thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/comment/leaders/article1433604.ece
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:19:07 +0000
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