The Law exists to protect the many, not to enable the few
Oh how I wish I could attribute that quote to our Prime Minister! Instead these wise words come from a man who, despite suffering from a terminal illness, is campaigning against the bill being voted on in the House of Commons today.* The bill, if passed, would give doctors the freedom to assist people to commit suicide, if the sufferers were diagnosed to have 6 or less months to live, at the patients request.
The very complexity of this issue is one good reason why I too think the bill should not be passed. Until we can be sure that the passing of the law will not lead to pressure being put on the vulnerable, we should resist the call of the minority to be allowed to take their own lives.
Law is a serious societal business. As Archbishop Welby says, passing the bill would be ‘crossing a fundamental legal and ethical Rubicon.’ Yet, in the U.K, only 35 people felt the need to leave the country and attend the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, according to the campaign group Dignity in Dying.
I have no statistics available – please shout if you find some! – but surely this number, compared to the number of people in the U.K. who are suffering from some form of terminal disease, is very small. I come back to the beginning – “The law exists to protect the many, not to enable the few.”
But what do we need protecting from? Ourselves. Although the issue is
complex I think in many ways we show ourselves to be simple beings in many respects.
If something is not allowed in society, some will always seek to find a way to carry on doing it, but most will adhere to the rules. Once something is allowed however, it becomes an option. And once it becomes an option it becomes more visible. Once visible, it all too easily becomes something we can feel pressured into.
Two quick examples: Smoking and pornography.
Smoking is legal. Despite all the medical evidence, and the increasing societal distaste for the effects of secondary-smoke, just look how hard it is to get that little genie back in the bottle! Because it is legal, it is an option. Because you are exposed to it, it can be a pressure point.
If that were not so, why pass legislation which limit the advertising and even display of cigarette packets? Because availability leads to visibility and that leads to pressure.
Pornography demonstrates the need for effective legislation, albeit from the opposite end of the spectrum. When I was a boy growing up in the 1970’s, pornography was unavailable until you were 18 – the really nasty stuff until you were 21. (Any schoolboy will tell you that you could, through many a revolving door, get some access to it, if you were determined enough!)
For the most part – and, importantly, for most of us – it was kept away.
However, in the 21st Century, it seems the only restriction on pornography is whether or not you have access to a screen or even a mobile ‘phone. Many studies and life stories are showing the excruciatingly detrimental effect this ‘open source’ pornography is having on our lives and especially that of our young.
Again, the availability -through a lack of legislation and the promotion of a relative few – has meant that pornography has become ubiquitous, despite the views of many of us who didn’t ask for it, or want it to be, part of our lives.
“While it is not a crime in the UK for someone to take his or her own life, we
recognise that it is a tragedy and we, rightly, do all that we can to prevent suicide. The assisted dying bill requires us to turn this stance on its head, not merely legitimising suicide, but actively supporting it…never mind the much more insidious pressure that could come from a very small minority of unsupportive relatives who wish not to be burdened.”
So says Archbishop Welby. Behind his words is an understanding of the sanctity of a human life. (It is no surprise to find that faith leaders joining the Archbishop against the bill include Muslim, Jewish and Sikh leaders in the U.K.)
For Christians the crucifixion of Jesus Christ viscerally displayed two crucial truths:
God is not immune to our suffering – he has submitted himself to it and is therefore with us all in our own times of need
God valued our relationship with him so highly, that he was prepared to come and die for our transgressions, rather than end that relationship
Even if the danger of the vulnerable being put under pressure to commit suicide, due to the potential availability of the necessary denouement from doctors is not deemed sufficient grounds to refute the bill, I believe our common humanity is.
We are called love one another – love one another in suffering and difficulty. And, as God was in Christ, called to love each other right through to the end.**
Deciding to ‘give up’ on a life – even one life – should never, ever, be a legalised, socially acceptable option.
*Interviewed on BBC radio 4, Today program, 11th September 2015
** (On the night of his arrest) “After washing their feet, he put on his robe again, sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was dong? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”
John’s Gospel, chapter 13, verses 12-15
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