We Did Not See This Coming

Unexpected Mercies

Whilst this has not got great press, it remains an outstanding, unexpected event.  The British Parliament voted overwhelmingly not to "legalise" euthanasia.   We congratulate the United Kingdom.  Regrettably such an outcome is not likely in New Zealand when it finally gets to be debated in our parliament.

Assisted dying bill overwhelmingly rejected by MPs

After a passionate debate, MPs vote 330 to 118 against changing law, in first Commons vote on assisted dying for 20 years

MPs have voted overwhelmingly against changing the law to allow doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives.  In their first vote on the issue for about 20 years, the Commons rejected the assisted dying bill introduced by Rob Marris, a Labour MP who had argued that it was about ensuring peaceful deaths rather than euthanasia.  The debate was heated on both sides, with many MPs drawing on their personal experiences of dying relatives to give weight to their arguments. However, opponents outnumbered supporters by 212, with 330 voting against and 118 in favour. [The Guardian]

The outlook was not good.  Hence our joyous surprise.
  A Bill in the House of Lords that would have  permitted doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of poison  had been trotting through the legislative stages of that house, without dissent.  After the recent election, it was decided to introduce a Bill into the Commons--although, as a private member's Bill it was not given strong chances of success, since David Cameron, the Prime Minister had indicated he would not support such a Bill.

After the election, Falconer suggested his proposals would have more of a chance if they were taken up by an MP in the Commons.  Even if MPs had voted in favour, the bill had only a slim chance of becoming law because David Cameron had indicated he was not in favour of legalising assisted dying. Any private member’s bill needs some degree of support from the government to allow it time for debate.

The debate was spirited in the Commons.  Naturally, those in love with death took the occasion to slur the Church and its convictions.

Passions ran high from the beginning of the parliamentary debate. Sir Crispin Blunt, a Conservative former minister whose parents and father-in-law died of cancer, made the case for people to be given a choice how to end their lives, saying he was somewhat “appalled that the Catholic and faith lobby seek to limit personal autonomy”.  Keir Starmer, the Labour MP and former director of public prosecutions, also gave an important speech in favour, after laying out his reasons for deciding in a number of cases not to prosecute people who had helped dying relatives to end their lives abroad.

Others argued the contrary:

Fiona Bruce, the Tory MP for Congleton, described the bill as “legally and ethically totally unacceptable”, while the former defence secretary, Liam Fox, said the legislation would open a “Pandora’s box” and “overturn 2,000 years of the Hippocratic oath”. Labour MP Lyn Brown said she was concerned elderly people could be “emotionally blackmailed” by relatives to end their lives.

One common theme stands out amongst the advocates and proponents of "assisted dying": the assertion of personal autonomy.  Here is the creed of our Age: "I am the master of my fate".  It's application to "assisted dying" is short, sharp and cogent:  one speaker was somewhat “appalled that the Catholic and faith lobby seek to limit personal autonomy”.  Another also waved the flag of personal autonomy:

Another Labour MP, Jim Fitzpatrick, said his use of asbestos gloves and other clothing during his time in the fire service had led him to fear a painful death from mesothelioma. “If that’s what lies in store for me, I want to control my own death,” he said.

It is not reported whether that precept got attacked in the debate.  But this is the heart of the issue.  It is whether man has autonomous control over his own life, and his self-glorifying anthem remains, "I did it my way!" or whether there is a Judge of all men, Who has granted the gift of life, and to His will we must remain at all times subject.  The debate most certaintly represents a clash of faiths.

The sentimental, narcissistic case of  death-by-doctor will never be allowed to stop with the elderly.  It cannot.  The logic of its arguments, once it premisses are accepted, must apply without prejudice to all human beings.  If the terminally ill have a right to premature death, so do all.  How would one argue--with any degree of consistency or relevance--that the claimed right to control one's own death should be limited only to the terminally ill?  What about the quadriplegic?  What about the one diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's? What about the teenager who is sick of living and wants to control his own death?  Any argument which denied these their "rights" would be a violation of the assertion that a human being has "personal autonomy" and a right to "control one's own death."

Welcome to the world of the new medical oaths and vows.  Doctors would need to take new, formal oaths that they will do their utmost to assist any who seek to terminate their life, regardless of age, sex, or condition.  Welcome to the world of, "I am the master of my fate" and "I will do it my way."

The most encouraging thing in the recent Commons debate was the margin by which doctor-assisted dying was rejected:  330 to 118 was a resounding victory.

It was an unexpected mercy, for which we thank God.  The heart of the king is in the hands of the Lord.  He turns it wherever He will.  So often, in our times, the hearts of the governing authorities have been turned by our Lord to our deserved chastening, our judgement, and our humiliation.  We are thankful that in this matter He heard and granted the pleas of  His children.

The prayers of Asaph--on the lips of the saints--have been heard:

Have regard for the covenant,
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
Let the poor and needy praise your name.
Arise, O God, defend your cause;
Remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
Do not forget the clamour of your foes,
The uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!
Psalm 74:20-23