Thought this would be of interest ...

Church ends taboo on mercy killings

· Archbishop's aide signals new approach
· 'Compassionate case' for voluntary euthanasia

Jamie Doward, social affairs editor
Sunday January 16, 2005

Observer

The Church of England took a radical step towards backing 'mercy killing' of terminally ill patients last night after one of its leading authorities said that there was a 'strong compassionate case' for voluntary euthanasia.

Canon Professor Robin Gill, a chief adviser to Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said people should not be prosecuted for helping dying relatives who are in pain end their lives. Last week Gill was sent by Williams to give evidence to a parliamentary committee investigating euthanasia.

Gill's stance marks a major shift by the Church of England and was welcomed by groups campaigning for a change in the law to allow for people to be helped to die under strictly limited circumstances.

'There is a very strong compassionate case for voluntary euthanasia,' Gill told The Observer . 'In certain cases, such as that which involved Diane Pretty [the woman who was terminally ill with motor neurone disease and who campaigned for the right to be helped to die], there is an overwhelming case for it.'

His claims were last night seized on by pro-euthanasia groups as evidence that the archbishop is prepared to engage in a debate on an issue that has long divided the clergy.

They described Williams's decision to send Gill to give evidence to the committee hearing Lord Joffe's private member's bill on assisted dying for the terminally ill as 'highly significant' and suggested that it represented a softening of the Church's attitude to mercy killings.

'The archbishop's choice of Gill represents a willingness to enter into a more constructive dialogue than before about this important issue. We hope it will encourage other members of the clergy to speak out openly in support,' said Deborah Annetts, chief executive of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.

Gill's comments come after Brian Blackburn, a retired policeman who killed his terminally ill wife in a suicide pact, walked free from the Old Bailey last Friday with a nine-month suspended sentence.

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Michael P.