(LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic bishop in England has denounced the British Parliament’s move towards legalizing euthanasia, warning that the country is “crossing a line from which there will be no return.”
In letter dated December 1, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth lamented that Britain has lost its Christian heritage The country’s euthanasia bill, titled the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, passed its Second Reading by 330 votes to 275 on November 29.
“Our world here in the U.K. has now changed, unfortunately not for the better,” he wrote. “As people of reason and people of faith, we know this is a truly bad move. It will put pressure on the elderly and the dying, making them feel they are a burden. It will undermine palliative care and the trust that should exist between patients and doctors.”
The legislation, if eventually passed, would allow doctors to participate in deliberately ending lives.
Currently, British law prohibits assisted suicide, which is punishable by up to 14 years in jail under the Suicide Act 1961.
Under the new law, those wishing medical help in ending their lives would have to meet the following requirements: be over 18 years old, registered with a GP, have been resident in England or Wales for over 12 months, have a “clear, settled and informed wish” to end their life that is voluntary, and be expected to die within 6 months.
The patient must request his or her killing from a doctor (although a doctor can raise the possibility), get signed off by two doctors and the High Court before receiving lethal drugs. He or she must self-administer the fatal dose but can have help if he or she wants or needs it).
READ: UK Parliament votes in favor of bill allowing doctors to kill their patients
Critics have warned that the new bill be both dangerous for vulnerable people and “extremely problematic for medical professionals, and ultimately, unleash a culture of death across British society.”
Egan warned that “the range of eligibility is bound to expand over time so that death by suicide will become normal. Although not unexpected, this vote poses a grave danger. Britain is now crossing a line from which there will be no return.”
“This legislation, however, makes one thing crystal clear,” he declared. “Britain is no longer a Christian country.”
“To be a Christian in future will not be easy, if ever it was,” Egan predicted. “More and more, as in ages past, we will stand out from the crowd and from others in our society who see human life, its dignity and value, in a radically different way.”
READ: Assisted suicide is spreading throughout the world. What will it take to stop it?
However, Egan did not give up hope but called on Catholics to ” pray earnestly, and to work tirelessly, to contain [the bill’s] range and its reach, to ensure that people of conscience are not forced into participation.”
“It is my hope that God will give us the grace to live our discipleship ever more authentically so that the true beauty of our Catholic faith might become even more evident,” he revealed.
“I pray that the splendor veritatis, the beauty of the Truth, the hope it gives, especially to the vulnerable, and the Gospel vision of the human person – fallen but redeemed, an incarnate spirit called to live a good life here on earth and one day to be with God for ever in Paradise – will shine out for all to see,” Egan wrote.