THE parochial council of a Winsford church has called on MP Andrew Cooper to oppose the 'dangerous' assisted dying bill.

A Parliamentary debate is set to take place this Friday on the issue, with a vote to take place which would pass the bill through it's first stage.

Should the vote carry, the draft bill would move to the committee stage where it will be scrutinised before a final vote is taken.

If passed, the bill would see it become legal for a terminally ill person with less than six months to live to seek an assisted death. 

Opposition to the bill have raised a number of concerns, stating it 'devalues the life' of a terminally ill person.

The Parochial Church Council of Christ Church, Wharton, has written to Mr Cooper, who has already declared his intention to vote for the draft bill, appealing for him to oppose it.

The letter states: "The case made for assisted suicide seems to be a caring solution to the problem of suffering at the end of life.

"Unfortunately, we believe there are several dangers here. Firstly, it devalues the life of a person who is terminally ill.

"It gives the message is that their life is not worth living. Once that diagnosis is made the accuracy of predicted length of time before death is based on averages.

"Some people will live for less than average but also many will live well for a considerable length of time.

"We know someone who was given six months to live in June 2022, since then he has attended his daughter’s wedding and seen the birth of his first grandchild and he continues to be a real joy to his friends.

"Secondly, we do have high quality end of life palliative care in our country and that needs to be extended and improved.

"Palliative care and hospices are there to there to help us die well not to rush us out the door.

"Thirdly, the bill might be presented with strict guidelines as to how assisted suicide is implemented, but the problem is that once it is allowed there will always be groups of people pushing at the boundaries.

"It is inevitable that they will be stretched as we have witnessed in Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It doesn’t take long for guidelines to grow to include other categories of suffering.

"Fourthly, the chief secretary to the Treasury has said that he would not be supporting the bill saying 'this is because Private Members' Bills, which are introduced by backbench MPs, don’t get anywhere near the same level of scrutiny and debate as the Bills put forward by the Government – and legalising assisted dying is far from a straightforward issue'.

"Fifthly, we leave the last line to actress and disability rights activist, Liz Carr who has urged MPs to reject this bill.

"She says: “For somebody who loses their job or a loved one and is left feeling suicidal, others will rally around and support them with suicide prevention help. But as soon as that’s a disabled or ill person, people think it’s fine for them to have a medically-assisted death. They think it’s better to be dead than to be disabled.”

"Disability rights groups oppose moves to legalise assisted suicide, believing it is impossible for enough safeguards to be in place to protect disabled people, prevent coercion, and feelings of becoming a burden.

"Parliament is warned that widening of the 'original eligibility' that permitted assisted suicide 'has occurred in all jurisdictions' where it is legal.

"Thank you for taking the time to consider our concerns. We look forward to hearing how you will stand up for better care and oppose this dangerous bill."