Open letter from women of faith on assisted dying

Last week we co-hosted, with Theos, Jewish Women's Aid and our member Restored an important roundtable discussing the impact of the Assisted Dying Bill on survivors of Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control. This was building on the work by Stay Safe East and Women's Aid Federation of England that highlighted the need for more clarity on how power & control and coercive control can be eliminated from the process of deciding on ending life.

As an organisation we, the Coalition represent our members who have diverse and varying views on all things but particularly the substance and impact of the bill. However, we are all united in our view that survivors and particularly those from faith backgrounds, who are less able bodies and those with mental health challenges struggle to be heard in the public square. It is imperative they are not ignored and involved in the process of good law making.

We co-authored a letter along with over 112 signatories, women of faith and no-faith who appreciate the role of faith in the personal and public spheres, asking for a change in the process of consultation. To make it more inclusive transparent and centring of the most marginalised. We also noted in our letter:

"If assisted dying is seen as a response to alleviate suffering, without addressing the underlying structural issues that make life difficult and safeguard against harm, it could put undue pressure on vulnerable women to choose death over inadequate care."

Open letter from women of faith on assisted dying

We write as a group of women of faith from different traditions and backgrounds passionate about care for people in vulnerable situations, many of whom have dedicated our professional lives to preventing male violence against women and girls.  

We hold a variety of views on the principle of legalising assisted dying. However, we are all clear that the current legislation – The Terminally Ill Adults Bill – progressing through parliament, has insufficient safeguards to protect some of the most marginalised in society, particularly women subjected to gender–based violence, and abuse by a partner, who also experience intersecting barriers to a full and safe life. 

We are concerned that the proposed legislation could create a new tool to harm vulnerable women, particularly those being subjected to domestic abuse and coercive control, by helping them to end their lives. 

A report out last month showed that the number of domestic abuse victims who died by suicide in England and Wales was higher than the number of people killed by their abusive partner, for the second year running. 

We know too that domestic abuse victims who are also women of faith can face a particular form of abuse[1] at the hands of their perpetrators, who may weaponise theologies and culture to harm and control their victims. We are concerned that the assisted dying legislation, as it stands, fails to take account of how faith and its role at the end of life, as well as its use by both perpetrators and the women they abuse, create complex dynamics that can lead to vulnerable women, who may also hold strong religious beliefs, seeing no way out but death.

We know that poverty and other inequalities increase the risk of women and girls being subjected to violence, ill health and the quality of care and support they receive from statutory institutions and civil society. We know too that in a society riven with inequalities, women who are from Black and minoritised communities, disabled women, migrant women and working–class women, struggle to be heard. Their voices are absent from conversations about this bill, and so too are those subjective to coercive control or violence. It is unclear to us how the legislation and its consultative process has taken account of the multiplicity of faiths, cultures, socio–economic and health backgrounds of our citizens and women who make up our country. 

Much of the debate inside and outside parliament has been conducted by those empowered to speak of the importance of personal choice, without consideration of those who struggle to be heard in the public square. It is the voices of the unheard, ignored, and marginalised that we are compelled by our faith traditions and scriptures to listen and draw attention to, in the pursuit of good law–making for the common good – legislation that considers and protects the most vulnerable, not just those who speak loudest.

Having followed the progress of the bill through parliament, we are particularly concerned about: 

• The risk that people (mainly women) with controlling and abusive partners (mainly men) will be coerced into assisted death. While we welcome the adopted amendments that stipulate training for the assessing doctors and the panel members, this safeguard only comes into play after someone has already been coerced into declaring that they want an assisted death, and will clearly not catch all cases. We also know, from research and experience, that coercive control is a long–term process that is both insidious and subtle with women often unaware of it until the perpetrator’s behaviour escalates. 
• The reality that since 2016, deaths by suicide have been included in the scope of domestic homicide reviews and there is growing research on women who die by suicide as directly linked to having an abusive partner. We are concerned that if this legislation passes, women may seek assisted deaths to end their suffering at the hands of an abuser. Domestic Homicide Reviews also reveal the disproportionate number of Black and minoritised women who are failed by statutory and state agencies like the police, social services, health services and specialist services like substance misuse and mental health and women’s services despite their calls for help.    
• There are no longer High Court protections embedded in the Bill
• There are insufficient protections for those with learning disabilities and people with anorexia. 
• The use of the vehicle of the Private Member’s Bill for this landmark legislation. This has resulted in the impact assessment being shared after the Bill Committee stage, which makes it difficult for all of us with concerns about inequalities to gauge how this legislation will affect Black and minoritised and faith communities, people with disabilities, and those experiencing economic disadvantage.

If assisted dying is seen as a response to alleviate suffering, without addressing the underlying structural issues that make life difficult and safeguard against harm, it could put undue pressure on vulnerable women to choose death over inadequate care.

This is no way to legislate, especially not on matters of life and death. We have serious concerns about the bill and its lack of safeguards. The bill has too much potential to hurt vulnerable people and so we are uniting as women from across faith traditions to speak up for vulnerable women, including victims of violence against women and girls, and disabled women, and raise our concerns publicly.

Signatories:

This initiative follows a meeting organised in partnership with the Faith and Violence Against Women and Girls Coalition, and Restored, facilitated by Jewish Women’s Aid, and brought together by Theos.

For more information, see:

Addressing Spiritual Abuse in Ending Violence Against Women – Faith & VAWG Coalition

The Meaning of Dignity: What’s beneath the assisted dying debate? – Theos