Dr Simon Eyre (Chichester), a retired GP, moved a private member\u2019s motion on the subject on Sunday afternoon. \u201cHospices are suffering from a lack of funding,\u201d he said, and linked this to a pressure to change the law to allow assisted suicide. People might choose to end their lives prematurely rather than face suffering exacerbated by poor-quality palliative care, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSanctity of life is central to our understanding as Christians,\u201d he said, and cited Psalm 31: \u201cOur times are in his hands\u201d.<\/p>\n
Terminally ill people with depression, and people with disabilities, including learning disabilities, would be put at risk if legislation was changed, Dr Eyre said.<\/p>\n
The Suicide Act 1961 prohibits assisted suicide, although directions from the Crown Prosecution Service published in 2010 require that any prosecution be in the \u201cpublic interest\u201d.<\/p>\n
Several attempts have been made in recent years to introduce legislation that would permit assisted suicide in some circumstances, most recently in the form of a Bill in the House of Lords, which failed to reach a Second Reading before Parliament was prorogued in April.<\/p>\n
Dr Eyre conceded that palliative care \u201csometimes fails to deliver\u201d, but said that \u201cthe response to this should be to improve palliative care rather than make changes to the Suicide Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHospices are suffering from a lack of funding.\u201d https:\/\/t.co\/opyIeRrAcA<\/a><\/p>\n — Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n