Christian campaigners and church leaders have urged the Senedd to vote against granting consent to Westminster’s assisted dying bill, citing serious ethical concerns and risks to vulnerable people.
Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph, told Premier Christian News that his concerns are both Christian and societal.
“If we allow for assisted dying, it won’t be long before people choose death because they feel they have no other choice. I want to give people another choice. I want to give them the chance to have hospice care, and I’d like to see the money that the government is proposing spending on assisted dying to be spent on assisted living and a good death,” he said.
He emphasised that “each life is a gift from God, and we hold a sacred trust to live that life to the full under God, with the help of the Holy Spirit.”
His comments come as Senedd members are set to decide on Tuesday evening whether to approve parts of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, allowing some terminally ill adults in England and Wales to end their own lives.
They are not voting on whether assisted dying itself should be legal. That decision rests with the UK Parliament, as changes to suicide law are not devolved. If the bill passes at Westminster, assisted dying would become legal in both countries regardless of the Senedd vote, as the vote is political rather than legally binding.
Speaking to a Senedd committee earlier this month, Welsh Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said that even if consent is refused, “independent providers of non-NHS services could still be established in Wales due to the change in the criminal law.” He warned this could leave the Welsh government having to “operate within a framework that has not been endorsed by the Senedd.”
Assisted dying in Wales was rejected in principle when last debated in October 2024, with nine members abstaining. Both Miles and First Minister Eluned Morgan opposed it at the time.
Bishop Gregory is among a group of faith leaders in Wales who signed a joint statement last week urging the Senedd not to give consent to the bill.
Addressing claims that assisted dying is an act of mercy, Bishop Gregory told Premier: “Palliative care may be failing in this country. It’s simply because it’s not funded…If we fund them, it won’t fail. The truly merciful thing is to help a person to live the best life that they can for as long as they’re granted. The danger of people being forced into choosing death because they feel they have no other option is a truly horrible thing.”
Meanwhile, Christian public policy charity CARE also called on Members of the Senedd to reject the motion.
CARE CEO Ross Hendry said: “Legalising assisted suicide in Wales would open a Pandora's box and put enormous pressure on the most vulnerable. The Westminster Bill is an attempt to pass assisted suicide in Wales through the back door, yet the Welsh people have given no such mandate and it wasn't that long ago that the Senedd actively voted against assisted suicide in a non-binding vote. By rejecting this motion, the Welsh Parliament would send a powerful signal to the most vulnerable in communities across the country, from Cardiff to Aberystwyth to Llandudno.”
Labour MS Julie Morgan, who supports the bill, told BBC News she is concerned that poorer terminally ill people wouldn’t be able to access assisted dying services in Wales, further widening the gap between rich and poor.
If passed, the bill is unlikely to be finalised until early 2026, with implementation expected to take around four years. Decisions on introducing assisted dying services in Wales will likely fall to the next Welsh Government.
