At the time of writing, the Archdiocese of Liverpool website is highlighting (as shown above), a link to an important briefing paper ("Assessing the evidence on Assisted Suicide") produced just three days ago by the English and Welsh Catholic bishops, ahead of the UK MPs' debate in the House of Commons, 20 days from now, about a bill which seeks to enshrine in British law the legal right to "enable competent adults who are terminally ill to choose to be provided with medically supervised assistance to end their own life; and for connected purposes".
The primary aim of the bishops' short document is actually to refer readers onwards to another work: a study produced by the Anscombe Bioethics Centre ("Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: A Guide to the Evidence") which comprehensively nails the lie that this murderous campaign (heavily backed by the UK media and assorted UK celebrities, incidentally) is founded upon "mercy". Moreover, it asserts that its anti-success, if given Royal Assent, would only serve to "undermine key principles of law, medical ethics and palliative care".
Offering eight reasons not to legalise Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS), it is the fourth in a sobering list provided by the Anscombe team which forms the bedrock case:
Legalising PAS would undermine a foundational principle of law and justice. All human beings possess, in virtue of our common humanity, an equal and intrinsic dignity. It is contrary to justice and human solidarity intentionally to kill an innocent human being (that is, someone not engaged in unjust aggression).
Whilst rightly highlighting the links to this hugely impressive, incredibly clear and ultra-urgent document, the Archdiocesan website also directs readers to coverage of the high-profile funeral celebrated yesterday by the Auxiliary Bishop in one of the city of Liverpool's most famous Catholic churches – which was also broadcast live to millions across the UK on TV, radio and the Internet – of a soul who scandalised many of her fellow baptised Catholics by publicly proclaiming her support for assisted suicide and especially the Dignitas euthanasia clinic in Switzerland.
