I appreciate that and I have great respect for the sentiment. However, I still worry that we will be asking, “How can we best support you?”, while at the back of our minds thinking, “There is one answer to that question that I will not help you with.”
The Rev Dr MacDonald mentioned opinion polls and the balance of views. Some people will place a lot of importance on opinion polls and others say that questions lead one way or another or that people have not considered the question in depth, but there is very little evidence to suggest that the balance of views is particularly different between the population at large and the major denominations.
It is also clear that, albeit not among the witnesses who have been invited to speak today, there is a range of views on the issues among the religious communities, including among people who are very committed and involved in their religious organisations. The Rev Scott McKenna spoke at the launch of the bill when Margo MacDonald published and introduced it. He talked about the bill as
“an attempt to bring peace of mind”
and said that he regarded it as
“an act of Christian compassion”.
We have also heard, elsewhere in the UK, from a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey. He said:
“those arguments that persuaded me in the past”
not to support a change in the law
“seem to lack power and authority now when confronted with the experiences of those suffering a painful death ... there is nothing anti-Christian about embracing the reforms that Lord Falconer’s Bill offers.”
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain said:
“the debate is not—as is often thought—a battle between the religious and secular camps, but is within the religious community too. There are many who have both a deep faith and a desire to see assisted dying legalised in Britain as a voluntary option for the terminally ill ... There are also a growing number of clergy like myself who are only too familiar with those dying in pain”
and want to see them allowed
“the option of assisted death if they so wish.”
At a global level, perhaps one of the most famous religious figures in the world, Desmond Tutu, has also written about the issue. He states:
“I revere the sanctity of life—but not at any cost.”
He acknowledges many of the issues of context that have been reflected in today’s discussion and states:
“I think a lot of people would be upset if I said I wanted assisted dying. I would say I wouldn’t mind actually.”
Can the witnesses reflect on why none of the organisations has chosen to acknowledge the range of views that exist both among those who subscribe to a religious affiliation and among those who are extremely active and have given the matter great thought in that context? Ephraim Borowski’s submission acknowledges that there is a range of views, but the submissions from most of the others and the discussion have not reflected that.