Good afternoon friend,
I am one of the 80% of religious people who support assisted dying. As a Rabbi, my faith is a key element in my commitment to the campaign for choice. Whatever anti-choice groups may claim, there is nothing sacred about suffering, nothing holy about agony.
Dignity in Dying has long had an alliance of interfaith religious leaders ready to push back against damaging claims made by some religious opponents. Now, the time has come to welcome members of the public whose commitment to changing the law on assisted dying holds strong not despite their faith, but because of it.
The Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying is now recruiting members of all faiths - from casual church-goers to religious leaders - to come together on this vital issue. Together we can show society, including religious MPs and Peers, that faith is entirely compatible with choice.
You may have seen the Sunday Times cover the launch of our new group this morning alongside a new statistic that the majority of religious people thought it was wrong for their leaders to lobby MPs to prevent law change on assisted dying.
We know who our opposition is. With a new Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords, now is the time to take a stand and make sure that parliamentarians aren’t taken in by claims that anti-choice people of faith speak for all of us. We know that they don’t. Like the rest of the population, anti-choice religious people can have a vote - but not a veto. Respect for the diversity of opinion among religious people is essential, but it should not come at the expense of rights for dying people.
Individuals from the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church of Wales, Catholicism, Baptism, Evangelism, Methodism, Unitarianism, United Reformed Church, Quakerism, Liberal Judaism, Reform Judaism and Sunni Islam have already come together to speak out on the injustice of the current law. If you’re a person of any faith, please, join us today and stand with dying people.
As a member of the Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying you could be asked to contribute to the debate as a person of faith. You can:
- be the first to be asked to respond to media pieces about religion and assisted dying
- discuss assisted dying with your religious leaders
- speak out in support of assisted dying in faith forums
If you’re a religious person looking for an extra role to play in the movement to change the law - now is the time to come together.
Join today and we can show Parliament and society that people of faith overwhelmingly support choice at the end of life.
Thank you,
P.S. Becoming a member is as simple as signing up with your email address - and it doesn’t cost a penny! Just fill in this quick form and we’ll be in touch soon.
