On 2 June Msgr. Mario Conti, archbishop of Glasgow and member of the Bioethical Commission of English Bishops, and Msgr. Peter Smith, archbishop of Cardiff, expressed a resolute “no” to euthanasia in an open letter to the House of Lords, which is due to discuss the subject this week. “The first and fundamental principle of human rights”, writes Msgr. Smith, “is the right to life, and the first duty of the State is to protect it by safeguarding the lives of its own citizens. Legalising euthanasia or assisted suicide would mean destroying that right as it would be tantamount to legalising intentional murder”. “In our country”, affirms Msgr. Conti, “we have a long tradition of curing the sick, one particular expression of which are old people’s homes. It is by promoting these institutions and not by killing the frail and elderly that civilisation progresses”. In closing his letter the archbishop of Glasgow recalls that, “even were it to be legalised, three quarters of doctors are against the practise”, and that “not even the physician with the greatest experience in palliative care is qualified to apply such a decision”.
