As a Christian doctor, I know allowing assisted dying will be a disaster

A bill enabling patients to commit suicide has completed its parliamentary stages in the Isle of Man, the first to do so in the British Isles. It permits doctors to prescribe poisons to an adult who is expected to live for a year or less. To qualify, the patient must have mental capacity to request such substances, have had residency on the Island for five years, and self-administer the poison.

The misnomer that is ’Assisted Dying’

The title of the bill – ‘The Assisted Dying Bill’ – is an Orwellian lie. This is not a bill which assists people as they die, it enables them in their suicide. Despite widespread objections, the bill passed comfortably. 74% of doctors in the Isle of Man opposed it and roughly one third will consider leaving the Island. The bill mover’s own biased survey showed a majority of the population against it.

Vulnerable groups, such as the Island’s autism community, raised concerns. There is evidence that hidden abuse and coercion will be near impossible to detect. And every jurisdiction which has implemented such laws has expanded the criteria of who qualifies for assisted dying over time. Yet none of this was enough to halt its progress. Even an attempt by the chief minister to call a referendum on such stupendous change in the social contract between government and people was rejected by the members of the House of Keys (the parliament of the Isle of Man). 

What is the motivation to bring in this bill, consuming so many hours of expensive parliamentary time?

It had only been mentioned on a few individual election manifestos, so there was little mandate. While most natural deaths are peaceful, it was the personal stories of MPs relatives that seemed to sway votes. Campaigners often spoke of ‘choice’ — I find this somewhat ironic — suicide is the end of all choice.

When we take upon ourselves the estimation of the value of life, we will flounder

Many who have examined the motivation say that, rather than a fear of future suffering, it is the desire to maintain control which is at the heart of this debate. Future dependency is abhorred. And though compassion is often mentioned, those in favour of assisting suicide appear to ignore the dangers to the vulnerable and the disabled. They overlook the fact that in places like Ontario and Germany, women form the majority of cases. They ignore the many testimonies of those who narrowly avoided an assisted death, and are so very grateful years later.

Practical concerns and dangerous precedents

And how will it work? Prognosis, predicting life expectancy, particularly in cases of weeks or months is notoriously inaccurate. 

The Isle of Man buys most of its cancer treatment services from the UK. Will UK doctors risk breaking the law in the UK, to advise Manx patients about their prognosis and their options? Which substances will be used as the poisons? No drug authority anywhere in the world has licenced drugs for assisted suicide and there is little published research regarding failures and side effects to base decisions on.

Doctors and pharmacists are required to adhere to evidence based best practice — in this situation, none exists. The Manx government funds just 27% of the costs of the excellent Isle of Man Hospice, but it plans to fully fund this new ‘death service’. That sends a clear message to anyone feeling a burden on society in their last days. Choice will become duty.

Our call

As Christians we turn to the Bible’s richness for helpful guidance and traditional wisdom. The commandment is clear, ‘You shall not murder’ (Deuteronomy 5:7), in 2 Samuel 1, we see capital punishment administered for the man who claimed to have assisted Saul’s suicide.

Then there is the faith of many, for example David (2 Samuel 15:26), or Esther (4:16), trusting their lives into God’s hands to dispose of or sustain as he saw fit. When we look to the example of Jesus we see that he never prescribed death as the answer to suffering, even for the criminals that hung on the crosses beside him. And he was at pains to explain to his followers that he had been given special authority to lay down his own life for others (John 10:18), perhaps in case it should seem like suicide.

All this doesn’t mean that Christians are free to ignore suffering at the end of life — indeed hospitals, modern medicine and palliative care emerged from the belief in the immense value of each human life and our commission to prevent illness, to heal and relieve suffering. But when we take upon ourselves the estimation of the value of life, we will flounder. It is well recognised that those without disability undervalue the lives of those who live with disability.