A group of Christian leaders in Victoria have joined in voicing their opposition to the State Government’s proposed new laws aimed at legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia in the state.
In an open letter published on Monday, the leaders – who include the city’s Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier, Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart and Greek Orthodox Bishop Ezekiel – said that even though an act of euthanasia or assisted suicide “may be motivated by a sense of compassion, true compassion motivates us to remain with those who are dying, understanding and supporting them through their time of need, rather than simply acceding to a request to be killed”.
“It is right to eliminate pain, but never right to eliminate people,” they wrote. “Euthanasia and assisted suicide represent the abandonment of those who are in greatest need of our care and support.”
The leaders, who also include Lutheran Bishop Lester Priebbenow, Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Peter Stasiuk, Syro-Malabar Bishop Bosco Puthur and Coptic Orthodox Bishop Suriel, said that no safeguards could ever “guarantee” that any deaths under the proposed laws would be “completely voluntary”. “There will always be a risk of error, fraud or coercion.”
As well as claiming that the proposed laws would “affect the confidence that seriously ill patients nearing the end of life can have in the treatment and quality of care that they might otherwise have expected”, they also said that endorsing suicide as a solution to pain and suffering sends a “confusing message” to society, especially the young and vulnerable. “It would be counter-productive to legally endorse any form of suicide when our governments and community groups are working so hard to persuade others that it is not a solution to take their own life”.
In the letter, which is addressed to the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, they called on the Premier and his government to “think again and reject this legislation”.
The Victorian Government is expected to introduce an Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Bill into Parliament later this year. It is anticipated that MPs will be able to make a conscience vote on the proposed laws.
In comments made to The Age newspaper, Ian Wood, national coordinator for Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia, said the clergy’s claims of coercion were misleading, noting that a person with a disability or whose illness is not terminal doesn’t quality under the proposed laws. He added that in the case of an assisted death, the choice was not “between life and death, which is suicide” but between two ways of dying.
