Chief welcomes MPs’ no vote on assisted dying

THE CHIEF RABBI has welcomed MPs’ rejection of a bill that would have made assisted dying legal.

The proposed law, allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, was heavily defeated by 330 votes to 118 at its second reading in the House of Commons.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis had described the measure as misguided and dangerous.

He outlined his opposition in a letter sent by faith leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, to MPs ahead of the debate, and in a Facebook post.

He wrote: “There is no greater value in Judaism than the sanctity of life. As a most precious gift from God, life has an absolute value, its preservation takes precedence over other commandments and it is not ours to cut short.”

He called the safeguards built into the bill “inherently fallible and so are profoundly problematic”, and warned that it could see vulnerable individuals bowing to pressure from family members to commit suicide.

The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations also opposed the bill, saying that if it were passed, “it would have far reaching and perilous consequences”.

In a letter, the strictly Orthodox organisation wrote: “The implications of such a bill becoming law are a cause of grave concern and alarm for the entire community.”

The Assisted Dying Bill, put forward by Labour MP Rob Marris, proposed allowing terminally ill patients with less than six months to live, who have expressed a clear intention to end their lives, to be allowed to do so under medical supervision.

In the heated debate Mr Marris said the current law did not meet the needs of the terminally ill. There were too many “amateur suicides, and people going to Dignitas”, he said.

Justice Minister Mike Penning opposed the bill because he did not believe the notion that “we can’t control pain in the 21st century” could be used as an excuse for allowing people to take their own lives.