Euthanasia Bill thrown out by British Parliament

Readers will know that over the past few weeks my faith in British MP's has been at an all time low.  It was therefore a very pleasant experience for me to listen to the debate this morning in Parliament on the Assistant Suicide Bill.   There were to my surprise many doctors and nurses among the members who in talking about the Hospice Movement and Palliative Care made defeat of the Bill inevitable.   At the moment we have a bereavement in our family and I was struck especially by an SNP member Philippa Whitford who gave an amazing account of how Hospices also worked with families throughout the care of their loved one.  I really learned so much.    What keeps assisted suicide in the headlines is the fear of death experienced by the family and that feeling of hopelessness.   She gave much hope.   I will be writing to her.   Of course Christians should not fear death and we should see dying as a time of love and mercy and be there with our prayers and for the warmth we can bring to our loved one.    Yes, it is not a time of joy, we will miss the person, but at least we can say he or she died a dignified death.    The Biased Broadcasting Corporation was upset and immediately after the vote called in one of the supporters of the bill a journalsit from the Economist who gave all kinds of excuses for the Bill being defeated but never once mentioned the hospice movement.   She said however the question will not go away - neither will the question of abortion.

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