Bishop Sarah Mullally opposes Assisted Dying Bill
In an interview in the Sunday Times, Bishop Sarah Mullally is reported to be drawing on her experience as an oncology nurse for her oppositioin to assisted dying. “The bill was not a good piece of legislation…..that’s why…there are many more amendments than peoplle expected. The interviewer reports that she has many practical concerns about the bill: that it will take funding from palliatice care and research; that inequalities in the health system mean disadvantaged groups will be more vulnerable to being pushed into assisted dying and that evidence from other countries suggests people in abusive relationships can be coerced into assisted dying. ”The safeguards are not in place“ she said. She also referenced how we determine which lives are worth living: ”We’ll project onto other people our values. If you think that you’ve got a low quality of life because you’re incontinent or immobile, there’s a whole group of people who have a very high quality of life, but they’re incontinent or immobile. She is pleased that the bill has led to broader conversations about death. “We don’t talk about it enough. People do have difficult deaths, but a lot of people die peacefully surrounded by their family and pain free”