In the weeks to come, a Private Members Bill will come to the House of Commons which, if passed, will legalise assisted dying for the first time in this country.

Having ministered to many people and their families in times of serious suffering, I am very aware of the complex feelings, experiences and views that people in Cornwall will have on the issues surrounding assisted suicide, assisted dying and euthanasia. I welcome the opportunity that this bill gives for open discussion about issues of critical importance around death, dying, suffering, what it means to be human and how we live well together as a compassionate and humane society.

My experiences of being alongside people, including people with learning disabilities, people who are terminally ill, people with serious mental ill-health and people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, make me gravely concerned by the proposals contained in the bill.

A key indicator of the health of society is the way it treats the most vulnerable. Over the years, the UK has pioneered the hospice movement, palliative care and progress to recognise the equal rights of people with disabilities. While in recent years these have been challenged by funding cuts, they remain a proud sign of the care and commitment that we have to every person in society, especially the most vulnerable, and are a marker of our humanity and compassion. I understand that this is far from being the aim of those supporting the bill, but the truth is that legally permitting assisted suicide immediately makes those people more vulnerable, by suggesting that their situation could be more easily resolved by ending their lives.

This is a particularly acute risk when the NHS and Social Services face huge financial challenges. The financial cost of care for an older person, someone with a disability or someone with a terminal illness is significant. In a society in which finance is a key measure, and in which a utilitarian ethics is deeply rooted, there is a clear and real danger that those who ‘cost’ the state more, and who are already likely to feel that they are a burden, will come to believe that they are ‘too expensive’. Disability groups and people living with mental illness have powerfully expressed exactly this fear.

Supporters of the bill will say that it defines very narrowly those for whom assisted suicide will be legal, but the clear evidence from Canada, Holland and Belgium, where assisted suicide has been legal for some time, is that legislation has been widened to include people who are not terminally ill, but are suffering with mental illness, including depression. When suffering is introduced as a reason for ending someone’s life, it becomes very difficult to give coherent reasons why any individual’s suffering is more or less acute than any others, and why what is allowed for some, should be denied to others. The inevitable conclusion is to extend the parameters of those who can choose supported suicide.

I have also supported people considering suicide. The website of the mental health charity, MIND, shows research from 2014 which shows that more than 1 in 5 people has experienced suicidal thoughts, and 1 in 15 have attempted suicide. These figures are likely to be even higher now. Suicide has a catastrophic impact on families and communities, and preventing it is a high priority for local authorities, including Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. This will become far more difficult when the law has, for the first time, indicated that there are circumstances in which suicide, including with assistance from others, is legal.

Finally, Western society is based on a core commitment to the sanctity of all human life. This commitment is made to every human being, and we have evidence from history of what happens when some people are held to be of more value than others. This bill might look like a proportionate and kind response to pain and suffering, but introducing it will unpick a core thread of our understanding of what it is to be a society that is committed to the universal sanctity of every human being.

There are other reasons for my concern, including the way assisted suicide undermines medical practitioners commitment to saving life, the opposition of a significant majority of people with disabilities and the clear evidence that properly funded palliative care offers people at the end of their life both compassionate care and a dignified death.

Whatever your views, these are issues of great importance. I encourage you to engage in the nation-wide discussion, to express your views to your MP and to pray for them as they make the decision on our behalf.

God bless