“Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Suicide, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Some Considerations (2)

Sister Elizabeth John of the Dolgellau Carmel concludes her study of the rise in support for assisted suicide  

Sir Kier Starmer, Dame Esther Rantzen. Photo Sky News

Status of Assisted Suicide

The status of medically assisted dying has changed dramatically in the last twenty-six years. Switzerland permitted it before 1997. As of October 2022, it is legal in ten countries and parts of the USA: Switzerland (since 1942, but mostly from the 1980s), the Netherlands and  Belgium (2002),  Luxembourg (2009), Colombia (2014), Canada (2016), Austria, New Zealand, and Spain (2021), Australia (2022), plus twenty-two states or districts in the US. In 2023, medically-assisted dying was legalised in Portugal, but assisted suicide and euthanasia remain illegal. It is still being debated in Germany, France and Scotland.

“Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Suicide, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Some Considerations (1)

(In memory of David, Jeremy Stanley and Walter)

St Joseph's Hospice, Hackney, East London

In part one of a two-part essay Sister Elizabeth John of the Dolgellau Carmelite monastery examines some of the moral issues at stake around Kim Leadbeater's proposed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

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A Historical Study: The Moral Problem of ‘Assisted Dying’

This article is an exploration of some of the issues around suicide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide, based on an essay submitted in 2023 for the philosophy element of the Teresianum’s Online Certificate in Spiritual Theology.^[1] It is not intended as a comprehensive summary of arguments for or against assisted suicide.

Terminology

Assisted Suicide: An individual is provided with a fatal drug and has to be capable of administering it themselves.

PAD:  Physician or clinician-assisted death- involves a trained professional administering the drug for the patient.

Euthanasia: Encompasses both of the above but sometimes has subliminal echoes and references, including what we usually do with our dying pets.^[2]

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID): The term, adopted in Canadian legislation, can include self or physician-administered situations and simply describes what it is.

Those in favour tend to use the term ‘Assisted Dying’, whereas those against refer to ‘Assisted Suicide’.

Why do I believe in God?

Ray Caldwell reflects on Scripture and contemporary psychology, especially the human experiences of suffering and ecstasy, and concludes that they provide strong evidence for the existence of God and for life after death.

Does God exist? If so, why does God seem so distant?

Perhaps the answer to the latter question is that we are dull, and we have to awaken to God by our conscious choice.

There are MANY things on planet Earth to distract us away from this one, supreme quest.

'Open Communion': a sign of disintegration, not progress

Many Protestant churches today accept and celebrate indiscriminate eucharistic sharing. Fr Ian of St Mary Magdalene parish, Blaenau Ffestiniog, questions the wooly thinking behind such a practice, which has come to enjoy growing support among Catholics.            

A typical group photograph after a typical Catholic First Communion Mass

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There's something about Mary

Consider this tale of woe, reported some time ago, on the website of the pressure group The Association of Interchurch Families.

'Two Iranian Ex-Muslims Speak Out: Israel’s Attack on Iran | Biblical & Political Perspective'

A Forum reader has suggested that others might be interested in the following interview on YouTube, conducted immediately after the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran on 13th June.

Photo from the Financial Times, 13th June, 2025. © Meghdad Madadi/Tasnim News/AFP/Getty Images

The interviewer, Mohamad Faridi, is President of Iranian Christians International, 'the first indigenous mission to Iranians outside of Iran'  (click here for their website).

The person being interviewed is Hedieh Mirahmadi Falco, who runs the Resurrect Ministry with her husband Andy (click here for a link to their website).

Here's the interview (click on the photograph):

Did Thomas the Apostle Really Go to India?

Ian Hampson of the Harlech Goleudy (Lighthouse) Church looks at some of the historical material about Saint Thomas the Apostle, whose missionary life began with questions and doubts about Jesus' resurrection  

St Thomas’ Cave, Little Mount, Chennai/Madras

Most of us know him as "Doubting Thomas" - the apostle who refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection until he saw the wounds for himself. But there’s much more to Thomas than a moment of scepticism. In fact, according to a long-standing tradition, he may have taken the message of Jesus further east than any other apostle - possibly even to India.