The Justice Secretary Shabana Mahood has come out strongly against assisted dying. She has made it known that she has religious views that underpin her position.
Lord Falconer who has himself attempted to bring an assisted dying law into force through the House of Lords has complained that people should not impose their religious views onto others.
It is worth noting two things, first that whilst I believe that it is the Christian Gospel which provides the strongest reasoning for why we should be opposed to euthanasia, those who oppose it do so from a wide variety of religious backgrounds including Christians, Muslims and humanists.
Furthermore, because it is recognised that the vote will be a matter of conscience for MPs, this means it is explicitly acknowledged that MPs will be voting based on their personal ethical values and those ethical values will come from what they believe. The kind of God you believe in, including if your god is so distant and impersonal as to be non-existent, shapes what you believe, what you value and how you live.
This means that opting to support a law that will encourage a culture where people feel under pressure to take their own life and where doctors and lawyers are called upon to participate in the steps leading up to the taking of life, must be rooted in your religious beliefs too. Why should those religious beliefs take precedent over beliefs that encourage the preserving of life?
Faithroots 