Faith

Isn't it time we killed off for good any talk of assisted suicide?

Once again the issue has risen to the top of the political agenda with peers being asked to vote on a bill from Lord Joffe; thankfully they saw sense, and voted it down.

Its just two years since I learned my mother had breast cancer. I can't explain the feelings of anger and frustration which gripped me as I was told the news. I felt so helpless, and, asked the usual questions "why her?" "what can I do?" "will she get better?"

It's so hard to cope with the fact that someone you love so much is going through pain, you want to do anything in your power to make things better for them.

It would have been so easy for me to relieve her of her suffering, or, help her to die; and, the frightening thing is, if I had done, and such a bill had been enshrined in law, it could have been legal.

Thankfully those panic instincts faded away, she was able to benefit from excellent healthcare, and, we began re-building our lives - phew, the hope which comes with the time to think, rather than rushing head-long for the quick fix.

No doubt someone will attempt to bring a bill back before one of the houses of parliament in the future?

It is a vain hope but, perhaps underpinning any discussion, we may remember these principles?

Life is God-given and therefore has intrinsic sanctity, significance and worth.

Human beings are in relationship with the created order - a relationship characterised by such words as respect, enjoyment and responsibility.

Human beings, while flawed by sin, nevertheless have the capacity to make free and responsible moral choices.

Human meaning and purpose are found in our relationship with God, in the exercise of freedom, critical self-knowledge and in our relationships with one another and the wider community.

This life is not the sum total of human existence; we find our ultimate fulfillment in eternity with God, through Christ.

Our God is the beginning and the end, the author of life, and its finisher; it is He who should decide, without interference, when the angel of death should visit us, and, what trials we should have to go through before such a time.