MPs in the House of Commons passed Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill last week. It will be several years before Britons are able to ask their doctors to help them kill themselves, but it is a totemic moment nonetheless – the first time Parliament has endorsed the concept of assisted suicide. In this episode we discuss what the bill proposes, the campaign that built up to the debate, how MPs discussed and voted on the bill, and what happens now. Is there any scope for damage limitation in the next committee and amendment stages of the legislation, before it comes into effect? And what should the church be doing to prepare Christians for this stark new reality, to disciple believers about why suicide is not the best way to end a life? Or, are some Christians wildly overreacting to what is a disappointing but relatively minor social reform?
Read John’s detailed report on the Leadbeater bill, sent to all MPs before the debate, here: https://www.johnwyatt.com/leadbeaterbill/
Find the rest of his resources on assisted suicide and euthanasia here: https://www.johnwyatt.com/in-focus/assisted-suicide-and-euthanasia/
- Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173
- If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John’s website: http://www.johnwyatt.com
- For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com
