The Sanctity of Life

Around 30 years ago I did a GCSE Religious Studies project on the Sanctity of Life when I explored euthanasia and abortion as ethical subjects. These are two very live issues found in political discourse at the moment: the right to have an abortion in America (along with gun ownership, free school meals and the death penalty) are key issues in American politics in the recent Presidential election and the UK parliament is debating assisted dying.

These are emotive subjects, and rightly so. Much has been written over the years about these issues from a variety of perspectives including theology and medicine; but after two decades in ordained ministry, I no longer see words on a page but the faces of people I have encountered. I see the face of Ron; I was called to give him the ‘Last Rites’ as he was meant to die that day; he lived another 2 years. I see the face of Mary who was diagnosed with malignant breast cancer aged 82, she put her affairs in order but lived another 5 years. I see the faces of Tom and Sarah; their unborn child was very ill, and Sarah’s life was in danger, so the pregnancy was terminated at 21 weeks. I see the face of Clare, when she discovered that she was pregnant her boyfriend demanded that she had an abortion, she waited as long as possible to do so, and immediately afterwards she bitterly regretted her decision, a few months later her child was buried with full funeral rites.

We are dealing with sensitive and complex issues around how we understand the sanctity of life, and the choices we can make as human beings made in the image God. Psalm 139 (one of my favourite Psalms) says‘For you created by inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…’ (v13–14a).

Theologically, I am ‘pro-life,’ I believe that life begins are conception, but I also recognise that life is complex, and I have no desire to impose my own views on other people. Treating sensitive ethical decisions about life and death with an approach which is black and white lacks compassion and can deny the humanity of painful situations. Whilst we can have moral absolutes, we can practice our morality with empathy, recognising that this side of the Lord’s return with live with immense uncertainty. I am also aware that many pro-life campaigners in America are also pro-gun ownership, pro-death penalty and opposed to free school meals, this is morally inconsistent; their alleged pro-life position is better described as ‘pro-birth.’

Terminating a pregnancy for reasons other than a medical emergency or an act of sexual violence, is one I struggle with; with the free availability of contraception and sex education in schools, it should be unnecessary. I do wonder if the rate of unwanted pregnancies is a result of sex being detached from love and commitment, being treated as another form of entertainment. People might say we talk about sex too much, sometimes I think we don’t talk about it enough. As a priest I have support a few women who needed to make such a difficult decision for a variety of reasons, I did so without judgement, life is complicated enough.

I wonder too if our debate on assisted dying comes from a place of fear of death, we often say ‘pass away’ rather than die. Death, dying, suffering is all a part of the human condition, and we all too easily shy away from discussing them. So too is suffering, no one wants to be in pain, no one wants to see suffering in another person, yet suffering is a part of the human story and pretending it is not there is a mistake. I worry that in moments of vulnerability, a person might decide to end life, a decision which could be wrong and have terrible consequences. I end as I began, by seeing faces and the stories they tell. I fear assisted dying will impact the vulnerable and will cause us to shy away from conversations about death and suffering.

God alone in sovereign in life and death, each human being is created with purpose, no one is an accident, and discovering God’s sovereign purposes is a life-long journey.