Scotland: interreligious plea, “we say no to the assisted dying Act”. Mgr. Keenan, “there’s the idea that an individual can lose their value”

“We express our deep concern for assisted dying inevitably undermines the dignity of the human person and might put pressure on vulnerable individuals to opt for assisted suicide”. With these words, contained in a release, the Catholic Bishop of Paisley, John Keenan, on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, called on the Scottish Parliament to stop a new bill of law that aims to make assisted suicide legal. Such release was also signed by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields, and by the Imam of the Dundee Central Mosque, Shaykh Hamza Khandwalla. The new legislation has been proposed by Scottish MP Liam McArthur and aims to allow assisted suicide for terminally-ill adults. The last attempt at making assisted suicide legal in Scotland dates back to 2015, but was rejected by Parliament with 82 votes vs 36. “Assisted suicide attacks human dignity and results in human life being increasingly valued on the basis of its efficiency and utility”, Bishop John Keenan went on. “Implicit in legal assisted suicide is that an individual can lose their value and worth. Evidence from countries where assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal shows that vulnerable people feel pressured to end their lives through fear of being a burden” on society.
Valentina Bombelli