Lenten campaign 2026
This content is free of charge, as are all our articles.
Support us with a donation and enable us to continue to reach millions of readers.
The Catholic bishops of Wales (Archbishop Mark O’Toole and Bishop Peter Brignall) issued a joint statement on January 15 opposing legislation that would legalize assisted suicide and calling for prayer and for a day of fasting on Monday, January 26.
Independently, a group of more than 250 Welsh doctors and healthcare professionals wrote an open letter, published on January 14, also opposing the bill.
As is the case in France, a bill legalizing assisted suicide is currently being considered for approval in the United Kingdom (England and Wales). Although the legislation is currently being debated in Westminster, the Welsh Parliament — or Senedd — has to vote on whether the legislation can be implemented by the Welsh National Health Service. This vote will take place on Tuesday, January 27.
The bishops’ statement
For this reason, there is heated debate within Wales, and local Church officials and healthcare professionals have an important voice.
“As the Senedd prepares to debate and vote on whether to give legislative consent to Westminster’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, we wish to express our deep concern about the proposal to legalise assisted suicide and the serious implications this would have for Wales,” the bishops write.
“If enacted, this Bill would introduce assisted suicide into law and represent a profound change in how society responds to those who are terminally ill.
In our view, it would place many vulnerable people at greater risk,” they continue.
More and more people on the dying list
Experience in other countries around the world has shown — the bishops point out — that once assisted suicide is legalized, “eligibility criteria tend to expand over time.”
The number of deaths increases, and people who are considered eligible end up feeling pressured to opt for death instead of possibly “becoming a burden on others.”
The bishops point to “a long and proud tradition of compassion and valuing the dignity of every human life” in Wales, manifested in “the way our communities, health services, and voluntary organisations seek to care for those who are suffering or approaching the end of life.”
“True compassion” means helping those who are dying by “easing their pain, supporting their families, and ensuring that no one feels abandoned, burdensome, or without worth.”
The Catholic Church in Wales, they affirm, is committed to supporting those who suffer and calls for strengthening of palliative care and end-of-life care.
Consequently, they call for a day of fasting on January 26 “to be in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable to the proposed Bill, and that those intent upon passing it, may undergo a change of heart.”
Healthcare professionals weigh in
Dame Deirdre Hine, former chief medical officer for Wales, signed an open letter (PDF) together with palliative care consultants and a total of more than 260 healthcare professionals. While they do not say that assisted suicide is never the answer, they are strongly opposed to the bill for a variety of reasons.
“As health care professionals, we are deeply concerned about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,” the letter begins. “We have worked across the nation with vulnerable patients and in under-resourced health and social care services. Those who are distressed as they face a terminal illness deserve better.”
They denounce the lack of availability of palliative and hospice care, while insisting that the assisted suicide bill is “not the answer.” It is too easy under the proposed legislation to call an illness “terminal” and undermines “The Suicide Prevention and Self-harm Delivery Plan for Wales 2025-2028.”
As the bishops also observed, the bill would put pressure on patients who might feel like a burden on others or who might not have access to necessary services.
“Coercion is often covert and difficult to detect, particularly when undue influence comes from family or from a person with authority,” they note.
The bill also provides for “inadequate” oversight and regulation. Also, “There is no mechanism for independent scrutiny of the assisted dying service, for appeal against panel approval or redress for distressed family members.”
“Will the Senedd concur with UK Parliament providing patients the means to take their own lives when we know they will not get a hospice bed or meaningful counseling?” they ask.
They also indicate that this bill provides powers to the UK Secretary of State for Health that would disrespect Wales’ independence in healthcare matters.
A delicate international issue
The issues that are being debated in England and Wales regarding the end of life are complex and involve religious, medical, ethical, and legal considerations. Similar debates are taking place in France and in several US states, and the issues don’t go away after the legislation is approved or rejected. They continue to be debated as legislation is reintroduced, or as boundaries are tested and criteria expand.
Given the trend towards legalization, it’s possible that the January 27 vote will go in favor of the bill’s implementation in Wales, or that a revised version will eventually find acceptance. However the vote goes, those who oppose it must continue, as the bishops say, to make assisted suicide an option people don’t feel the need to consider, by promoting palliative care and truly compassionate accompaniment for those who suffer.
