The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity

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Death is not a comfortable word – the challenge is to have an uncomfortable conversation

Before coming to LICC, I led the secretariat for the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) on Dying Well. A cross-party group of parliamentarians, campaign groups, researchers, and medics all united around the proposed change in the law and their desires to oppose it.  

Kill the Bill, Not the Ill’ are the words inscribed upon the cardboard tombstones that were erected on a grass clearing opposite the Houses of Parliament last week Thursday. The campaign strikingly challenges the recent bill introduced into parliament which brings before the house a vote on whether to legalise ‘assisted dying’.  

Assisted dying – or, as the opposing campaigners aptly call it, ‘assisted suicide’ – is the medical practice of helping someone end their own life through the administering of lethal drugs. The criteria which qualify you to have an ‘assisted suicide’ is that you are terminally ill, with less than 6 months to live.  

I personally find it scary to think about how a national government could conclude that the answer to a failing palliative care system and human suffering is to help someone die quicker. I am also not naïve to the reality of death in all forms – from witnessing a suicide to an elderly relative on palliative care.  

Death is not a comfortable word. So much so that when people die now, we often use euphemisms like ‘passed away’ or ‘went to a better place’. It’s difficult to talk about, and it can be unsettling to think about. We have no control over it. There is suffering and pain for both the individual and those who are left behind.  

Choice, access, and control are the three words that ‘Dignity in Dying’ (DiD) are using to underpin their campaign for this legal change. They’re aspirational promises of the security we all desire. These three reductionist words currently dictate the whole conversation – which is precisely why we can’t have this as the sole narrative on the topic of death*.  

Death is painful, it can be out of control, it eliminates choices in our lives, and is revealing of all we had hoped for. At the heart of Christian faith is suffering and death, and Jesus himself faces unimaginable pain. Our God isn’t immune to the loss of a friend, the suffering of a relative, the terminal nature of life. How comforting to know that our Creator knows and understands.  

This week, inspired by our Connecting with Culture, I want to spark a better conversation on death.  How do we care for the ill and vulnerable? What does death look like? What medication do we have to alleviate physical pain? What does the central death of our Saviour tell us about our God and his promises when faced with the end of life?   

It may feel daunting at first, but why not ask a friend if they have seen the news on the bill, or be bold in asking a colleague at work what they think? These conversations are important, and you might be surprised by what people want to share. You may be the first person to ever ask.  

Mims Schluter Atkinson
Culture & Discipleship Project Lead

Do engage via the comments below, or email me at [email protected] with your stories, experiences, and thoughts. I’d love to hear from you. 

 

*For a better conversation on death, dying, and the afterlife, see the work of Theos on ‘Dying for Beginners’.

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