How we value life says everything about who we are as a society.
Do we meet suffering with care and support, or do we decide that suffering makes life not worth living?
This month, we will find out what Andy Burnham’s new government's answer to that question is.
Introducing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
What's happening?
MPs are due to debate this bill for a second time, having already rejected it once in April when it failed in the House of Lords.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently said Britain should fix its palliative and social care system before pressing ahead with assisted suicide legislation. Many who oppose the bill welcomed this as a step in the right direction.
Burnham has previously said he agrees with assisted suicide "in principle" and there lies the problem. Once suffering is treated as grounds for ending a life, there is no limit as to where this could go.
Who is at risk?
Elderly and terminally ill: once assisted suicide is normalised, subtle pressure to "not be a burden" becomes very hard to resist and very hard to detect. In Oregon, more than half of people who choose assisted suicide now cite feeling like a burden as a reason. In Canada, an 83-year-old grandmother was euthanised at a care home despite her family's claim it was against her wishes.
People severely affected by mental health: in places where assisted suicide laws have expanded, psychological suffering has increasingly been treated as sufficient grounds for approval. In the Netherlands, a 19-year-old died after applying for euthanasia at 16 for a condition linked to depression, on her own psychologist's suggestion. In Spain, a 25-year-old rape victim was euthanised after a suicide attempt left her paraplegic.
Children: in some countries, "safeguards" that once excluded minors have already been extended to include them. The Netherlands has expanded its euthanasia laws to cover minors.
There is hope
In April, the UK bill was defeated when the House of Lords refused to pass it, showing that truth and light can prevail, even against significant momentum.
ADF International has long argued, in the UK and internationally, that the law should protect life. Every human life carries inherent worth, regardless of age, ability, or how "productive" a society judges someone to be. This principle is under threat, and now is the time to defend it
What's next?
This is the moment for MPs to hear, plainly, why "in principle" support for assisted suicide cannot be qualified away by promises to fix care funding first. What’s needed isn’t better-managed suicide. It's no suicide at all.
That's why, this Saturday, ADF International will be standing alongside thousands of others at March for Life UK in Parliament Square. As MPs prepare to debate this Bill, the march is a powerful, public reminder that the value of every life is not up for negotiation. We would love for you to join us there.
Please join us in prayer at this significant time, and if you feel called to, please consider supporting our work in the United Kingdom and beyond.
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