Archbishop of Canterbury warns on elderly and euthanasia
-06/09/05
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has issued a warning that a permissive approach to voluntarily ending life in Britain could undermine fundamental commitments to the needs of the elderly.
In a keynote speech to a charitable foundation on the challenges confronting an ageing society, Dr Williams said that ì[t]he current drift towards a more accepting attitude to assisted suicide and euthanasia in some quarters gives me a great deal of concern.î
He continued: ìWhat begins as a compassionate desire to enable those who long for death because of protracted pain, distress or humiliation to have their wish can, with the best will in the world, help to foster an attitude that assumes resources spent on the elderly are a luxury.î
In his speech to mark the centenary of Friends of the Elderly, the Archbishop asked: ìInvestment in medicine, ensuring that access to the best palliative care is universally available, continuing research not only into the causes but into the behavioural varieties of dementia and so on – how secure would these be as priorities if there were any more general acceptance of the principle that it was legitimate to initiate a process designed to end someone’s life?î
However, Dr Williams made clear that he does not regard this potential erosion as the intention of proponents of change.
He said: “I am certainly not ascribing to the defenders of euthanasia or assisted dying any motive but the desire to spare people unnecessary suffering. But I think we have to ask the awkward question about how this might develop in a climate of anxiety about scarce resources.”
Dr Williams, who is Patron of the society, also examined the impact of advertising and marketing cultures on attitudes towards older people. He contended that ageing has to be seen as a ìa spiritual issueî in order to see promote its positive role and dimensions.
The titular head of the worldís 70 million Anglicans said that through ì[w]ork, sex, [and] the struggle to secure our position or statusÖwe constantly negotiate our demands and prove ourselves fit to take part in public lifeî
But, he asked, ìWhat is there outside all this that might restore some sense of a value that is just given, a place that doesn’t have to be earned?î
Dr Williams concluded: ìA healthy attitude to the elderlyÖ is one of the things that can liberate us from the slavery of what we take for granted as the ërealí world… Contempt for older citizens, the unthinking pushing of them to the edges of our common life, is a sure sign of a shrivelled view of what it is to be human.î
Archbishop of Canterbury warns on elderly and euthanasia
-06/09/05
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has issued a warning that a permissive approach to voluntarily ending life in Britain could undermine fundamental commitments to the needs of the elderly.
In a keynote speech to a charitable foundation on the challenges confronting an ageing society, Dr Williams said that ‘[t]he current drift towards a more accepting attitude to assisted suicide and euthanasia in some quarters gives me a great deal of concern.’
He continued: ‘What begins as a compassionate desire to enable those who long for death because of protracted pain, distress or humiliation to have their wish can, with the best will in the world, help to foster an attitude that assumes resources spent on the elderly are a luxury.’
In his speech to mark the centenary of Friends of the Elderly, the Archbishop asked: ‘Investment in medicine, ensuring that access to the best palliative care is universally available, continuing research not only into the causes but into the behavioural varieties of dementia and so on – how secure would these be as priorities if there were any more general acceptance of the principle that it was legitimate to initiate a process designed to end someone’s life?’
However, Dr Williams made clear that he does not regard this potential erosion as the intention of proponents of change.
He said: “I am certainly not ascribing to the defenders of euthanasia or assisted dying any motive but the desire to spare people unnecessary suffering. But I think we have to ask the awkward question about how this might develop in a climate of anxiety about scarce resources.”
Dr Williams, who is Patron of the society, also examined the impact of advertising and marketing cultures on attitudes towards older people. He contended that ageing has to be seen as a ‘a spiritual issue’ in order to see promote its positive role and dimensions.
The titular head of the world’s 70 million Anglicans said that through ‘[w]ork, sex, [and] the struggle to secure our position or statusÖwe constantly negotiate our demands and prove ourselves fit to take part in public life’
But, he asked, ‘What is there outside all this that might restore some sense of a value that is just given, a place that doesn’t have to be earned?’
Dr Williams concluded: ‘A healthy attitude to the elderlyÖ is one of the things that can liberate us from the slavery of what we take for granted as the ëreal’ world… Contempt for older citizens, the unthinking pushing of them to the edges of our common life, is a sure sign of a shrivelled view of what it is to be human.’