Assisted dying weekend of lobbying with warning of fundamental shift in society
This weekend, there has been extensive lobbying around assisted dying, with a bill coming before parliament this Friday. It’s a debate which has engaged people of all faiths and none. Catherine Pepinster reports on the weekend’s developments here >>
- Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke out against the assisted dying bill over the weekend, referring to the death of his baby daughter, Jennifer, at just 11 days. “The experience of sitting with a fatally ill baby girl did not convince me of the case for assisted dying; it convinced me of the value and imperative of good end-of-life care…Would it not be better to focus all our energies on improving all-round hospice care to reach everyone in need of end-of-life support?”
- 29 faith leaders signed an open letter in The Observer saying a change in the law would turn into “a duty to die” and they were “deeply concerned about the impact the Bill would have on the most vulnerable, opening up the possibility of life-threatening abuse and coercion.. Investment in palliative care is the policy of a truly compassionate society”. Signatories included the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally; the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols; the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mervis; Sayed Abdul Saheb Al-Khoei, Secretary General of Al-Khoei Foundation; Qari Asim, Imam and Chair of the Mosques and Imams Advisory Board; and Anil Bhanot, Managing Trustee of the Hindu Council UK.
- The Observer reported a letter from Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, to her constituents, opposing the bill, saying “the state should never offer death as a service”.
- In reply, Lord Falconer referenced her Muslim faith and said that cabinet ministers should not impose their religious beliefs on others.
- Kim Leadbeater MP, who is tabling the bill, said she had no doubts about the bill and safeguards would be “the most robust in the world”.
- Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall backed the bill and said it would give people “power, choice and control” over their own deaths.
- A debate at Farm Street Church, Mayfair, last night attracted hundreds of people. Dr Matthew Doré, palliative care consultant, said it would change the relationship between doctors and their patients, and society would change from an emphasis on “remove the suffering” to “remove the sufferer”. YouGov and More in Common produced polls suggesting a majority back the bill, but Dr Dore said surveys conducted by the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians show that “doctors closest to the dying are opposed to this”.
- Dr Dore and Dr Julian Hughes, a former professor of philosophy and old age psychiatry, said they had not witnessed uncontrollable pain among patients close to death, though families mention this afterwards. Both want more money to go to palliative care
- Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, the former Paralympian and member of the House of Lords, said that disabled people were deeply fearful of the bill, and it would “change our relationship with society”.
Christian Aid says COP29 outcome is “paltry deal”
Christian Aid has criticised the outcome of the UN climate conference COP29, which agreed that richer countries would give poorer countries $300bn to deal with the impact of climate change. The developing countries had pushed for $1.3trillion and regard the final deal as too little too late. The money is needed to compensate for homes, crops and livelihoods destroyed due to droughts, storms and floods, as well as the disappearance of islands due to rising water levels. Aid agencies were at the talks in force and afterwards Christian Aid condemned the final deal, saying the event had been “hijacked by rich countries who have failed to negotiate in good faith” leaving poorer countries with “scraps”, describing the outcome as a paltry deal: “This level of funding simply won’t cut it”.
Murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in Dubai a “devastating blow”
Rabbi Zvi Kogan, 28, an Israeli-Moldovan envoy of the orthodox Jewish organisation Chabad Lubavitch, has been found dead in Dubai, three days after being reported missing. He had been working to establish and expand Jewish life in the UAE and managed a kosher supermarket in Dubai. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Kogan had been killed in a “criminal antisemitic terrorist incident. The State of Israel will act in all of its abilities to bring to justice the criminals responsible for his death”. Three people have been arrested in connection with the murder. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: “ The senseless murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan is not only a devastating blow to his family and the Jewish community in the UAE but to all who cherish the values of peace, respect, and coexistence”.
Comedian’s Virgin Mary poster ruled offensive
The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that a poster promoting the comedian Fern Brady’s stand-up tour “I Gave You Milk to Drink”, was offensive to Christians. The advert, which appeared on the Sky News website, depicted her as the Virgin Mary squirting breast milk into the mouth of a priest kneeling beside her. The ruling said it was likely to be seen as mocking the religious figures shown and to cause serious offence to some Christians. Fern Brady said the advert was not intended to mock. It was a recreation of a 17th-century painting depicting the miraculous recovery of a monk who drank milk falling from a statue of the Virgin Mary. Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society, said: “Rulings like this pander to religious reactionaries and infantilise Christians by presuming offence on their behalf”. Telegraph story here
More comment on Makin review and Welby’s “very English” resignation
The Bishop of Blackburn, Philip North, writing in the Church of England Newspaper, calls for more unity, independent safeguarding, an emphasis on renewing parishes and more support and structures around the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Canon Giles Fraser, writing for Unherd, speaks of radical reform, but as the “soft evangelicals have taken over the establishment”, he says the only way to get someone different to Justin Welby is “for the revolution that unseated Welby to keep going. More resignations need to follow”. The Rev Martine Oborne, chair of WATCH (Women and the Church) writing for Via Media, says the Makin review shone a light on patriarchy in the CofE: “Safety will not be fully addressed without changing the culture that has been an old boys’ club for far too long. One helpful step would be to put an end to institutional discrimination by sex”. The Rev George Pitcher, on his Substack page, suggests the CofE should be nationalised, with a board both secular and clerical, and regional management to which clergy report for financial performance and appointment contracts. An editorial in the US based Living Church describes Justin Welby’s departure as a “very English resignation” with a petition calling for him to go signed by three Englishmen, in response to an English scandal, concluding: “It’s not known if Welby consulted with any Anglicans outside the Church of England in making his decision to step down. The Church of England effectively fired Anglicans’ spiritual head and couldn’t be bothered to check in about it”.
New “eruv” boundary zone for Charedi Jews in Golders Green
A new Golders Green “eruv”, an enclosed area which allows Jews to move freely on the sabbath day, is due to come into effect in January. The Jewish Chronicle says an appeal for £250,000 for costs involved has now been reached. Strict Jewish law forbids the carrying of certain objects or even babies from private to public spaces on the sabbath, but the eruv creates an area regarded as private allowing more freedom of movement. The eruv boundary can connect physical features such as buildings, trees or hedges, but gaps have to be filled by wires mounted high above the ground. The area around Golders Green already has an eruv for Orthodox Jews, but Charedis have a “more stringent application” of the law and require a newly agreed zone.
Eurovision 2025 goes ahead as fundamentalist Christian protests rejected
Voters in the Swiss city of Basel have approved the staging of the Eurovision Song Contest to the tune of $40million, following a referendum called by the FDU, a Christian fundamentalist party which objected to the contest on grounds of morality. The Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland party said the contest had included “blasphemous performances”, with some verging on the occult. It said the contest had been “completely instrumentalised to promote ideologies” of “wokeism” and trans rights. However, 66.6 per cent of voters disagreed, so the money will now be spent. Basel was chosen because last year’s winner was Swiss singer Nemo, with “The Code”, a song about non binary identity.
