Christians have come together to pray that MPs will vote down the assisted suicide Bill.
Joining a national day of prayer against assisted suicide, organised by the Institute along with our friends at Affinity, CARE, Christian Concern, the Christian Medical Fellowship and the Evangelical Alliance, people are crying out to God ahead of the Second Reading vote in the House of Commons.
Tomorrow, MPs will vote on Lauren Edwards’ Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — an almost exact copy of the previous Bill of the same name by Kim Leadbeater. If passed into law, it will allow patients deemed to be terminally ill and with less than six months to live to receive help to kill themselves.
‘Watershed moment’
Institute Director Ciarán Kelly stated: “This is a watershed moment for our country, and it’s essential that Christians call upon the sovereign God of heaven and earth to protect vulnerable people from this careless and callous Bill.
“We need to pray that MPs understand the bitter reality of what this Bill would mean for our society and that they take the opportunity to vote down the Bill”.
He highlighted that a Scottish assisted suicide Bill was defeated in March and there is good reason to hope that a similar victory will happen in Westminster.
Suicide prevention
The day of prayer coincides with World Suicide Prevention Day — a global reminder that every life matters and that those in despair should to be given hope, help and care.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally urged MPs to reject the Bill: “We have a deeply embedded cultural commitment to suicide prevention, which must also apply to those who are terminally ill.
“For those individuals requesting assistance with suicide, what are the driving factors? If the answer is that the care that they need is unavailable, or that they feel like a burden, or that they fear pain, then we must ask more pressing questions about how we shape a society and build an NHS that rises to these challenges.”
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