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Anglican bishop sounds warning on assisted suicide bill
An Anglican bishop has spoken out against assisted suicide. The Rt Revd Mike Hill, the Bishop of Bristol, said that the desire of the seriously ill “not to be a burden” is "capable of ruthless manipulation". A bill is due to be debated in Parliament at Westminster on 11 September. Paul Tully, SPUC’s general secretary, commented: "We congratulate Bishop Hill for his courageous witness to the sanctity of human life. He has given a good example to his fellow Anglican bishops and clergy and to all Christians. Seeking to assist people to die well without killing them is both a Christian and a deeply-rooted British value.” [SPUC Director, 18 August]
Faith leaders write open letter in favour of assisted suicide
Religious leaders have written an open letter arguing for assisted suicide. In a letter to the Telegraph, they claimed that “there is ‘nothing sacred’ about suffering”. Signatories of the letter include Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Rev Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham and Baroness Richardson, president of Methodist Conference. Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism and Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, a leading figure in Reform Judaism, are supporting the call. [Telegraph, 14 August]
SPUC criticises doctors who give birth-control to underage children
SPUC has criticised doctors who give out birth-control pills to underage children. A study conducted by researchers at King’s College London found that about 75,000 girls are receiving the pill from GPs each year. John Smeaton, chief executive of SPUC commented: “Giving birth-control pills to under-age girls is uncaring towards children, undermines parents and exploits an uninformed public. It is uncaring towards children, because it ignores the fact that sexually-transmitted infections among teenagers have risen at the same time as increased provision of contraceptives.” [SPUC, 17 August]
Other stories:
Abortion
Euthanasia
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- Video: Daughter of lesbian couple speaks out against same-sex marriage in Australia [Yahoo, 17 August]
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To subscribe to SPUC's email information services, please visit www.spuc.org.uk/em-signup. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources, which are paraphrased rather than quoted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. © Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2018