Sunday, September 13, 2015

UK MPs Vote against Allowing Assisted Dying; Abp. Praises Parliament for Rejecting the Bill

In a vote in Britain's House of Commons, 330 MPs (Members of Parliament) were against the private members bill, while 118 MPs voted in favor of allowing doctors to assist terminally-ill patients to take their own lives. There were 202 MPs who were absent from the vote, the Catholic News website reports today (September 13, 2015).

The Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith, said he hoped the result meant this would be an end to the debate on assisted dying.

"I welcome Parliament's recognition of the grave risks that this bill posed to the lives of our society's most vulnerable people," he said.

He added, "There is much excellent practice in palliative care which we need to celebrate and promote, and I hope now the debate on assisted suicide is behind us, that this will become a focus for political action."

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