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A senior British archbishop is raising the alarm over the threat an assisted suicide bill currently under consideration in the UK parliament poses to the vulnerable, including victims of domestic abuse. In an exclusive interview with Crux Now, Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, Lead Bishop for Life Issues at the bishops’ conference of England and Wales, said the assisted suicide bill set to for a vote in September could lead to victims of domestic violence being coerced into killing themselves.raised the alarm “[T]he bill doesn’t contain sufficient safeguards against coercion or protecting vulnerable people and it’s noticeable that many disabled people, and those who support people with disabilities are opposed to this bill, saying they’re not properly protected,” Sherrington said. “Also,” Sherrington said, “the possible victims of domestic abuse may, again, feel pushed by this bill to opt out of situations.” “My primary concern is about coercion and the possibility that someone who’s very ill in an abusive situation could be coerced into making this choice,” he added. Sherrington was speaking just weeks before the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) on September 11 in the House of Commons Lauren Edwards, a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party, reintroduced the bill in June. A nearly identical bill introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater passed the final stage in the House of Commons in June 2025 but timed out in April this year after there were over 1200 amendments introduced in the House of Lords. In March last year, Women’s Aid, a charity that supports survivors of domestic abuse, said the earlier bill “lacks effective safeguarding of domestic abuse survivors.” “Coercive and controlling behavior, which is designed to make a person dependent on their perpetrator by isolating them from support, exploiting them, and depriving them from independence, is at the heart of domestic abuse,” said Sophie Francis-Cansfield, Head of Policy at Women’s Aid “This form of abuse is closely linked to domestic homicide and suicide in the context of domestic abuse, meaning that there are real risks that without effective safeguards in place, the Assisted Dying Bill could leave survivors in an extremely vulnerable position,” she added. The Lords will not be able to block the bill if it passes the Commons. Sherrington is concerned the flaws from the original bill will remain unresolved. If the bill were to pass, Sherrington said the country “would finish up with a deeply flawed bill that’s been criticized by many professional bodies such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Association for Palliative Medicine and the British Medical Association who have all raised serious concerns about it.” “We would finish up with a very bad piece of legislation and for something that’s so important in our society that would be very, very bad,” he said. Sherrington encouraged Catholics to contact their legislators to ask them to oppose the bill, and said he was “hopeful” that the bill could be defeated. “I’m hopeful that we can defeat it because of the power of prayer and the opposition that has been generated by not only Catholics but people of goodwill, people of other religions who recognize the shortcomings of this bill. So I’m hopeful that it could be defeated,” he said. The first part of Crux Now‘s interview with Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool is below, edited for clarity and length. Crux Now: The introduction of this bill is especially important because of the Parliament Acts that hamstring the Lords’ ability to block it. What are your thoughts on that? Archbishop Sherrington: First of all it’s important to recognize that in the previous Parliament, between the second reading and the third reading, there was a reduction in the majority of MPs who voted for the bill. Then the Lords gave it great scrutiny and brought out the flaws in this legislature. Therefore, we’re moving into a new situation with an old bill and still carrying with it all the flaws and all the problems which have not been ironed out. So I think that it’s not right to use the parliament bill because it would truncate the debate and it would not put right any of the problems with this bill. So I’m opposed to both this bill in principle and in practice because of the way that it’s framed and what it would actually imply and change in our society. It needs proper debate and it needs a recognition of all those reasons why it was rejected in the previous parliament. So what would it mean for the bill if it were to pass without the Lords having a say on it? We would finish up with a deeply flawed bill that’s been criticized by many professional bodies such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Association for Palliative Medicine and the British Medical Association who have all raised serious concerns about it. We would finish up with a very bad piece of legislation and for something that’s so important in our society that would be very, very bad. It will not serve people well if it’s passed, and parliamentarians have a duty to ensure that laws are good in the way that they’re phrased and in their implications. What are the primary issues you have with the bill as it is right now? Firstly, it’s wrong in principle that medical professionals should be involved in ending the lives of their patients. The role of the medical profession is to heal, to care, not to end life. That’s a complete change of what a medical practitioner does. Secondly, the bill doesn’t contain sufficient safeguards against coercion or protecting vulnerable people and it’s noticeable that many disabled people and those who support people with disabilities are opposed to this bill, saying they’re not properly protected. Also, the possible victims of domestic abuse may, again, feel pushed by this bill to opt out of situations. There’s also really important questions about conscience. It does not adequately protect the conscience rights of health and social care professionals, particularly social care professionals, many of whom are vulnerable and lack job security. Thinking of a social care worker in a nursing home and say there is a request of somebody for assisted suicide – how is the right of that person protected so as not to be involved in that action? Also, I’m very concerned that institutions such as hospices or care homes that don’t want to participate in this legislation don’t have an opt-out clause and this could lead to closure of nursing homes, hospices that are run by those with a religious ethos and who do not accept assisted suicide. So I think it would be really important that there’s an opt out for institutions that don’t want to participate, but that was rejected in the earlier parliament. Could you just explain a little bit more how the threat that assisted suicide would pose to people suffering domestic abuse? My primary concern is about coercion and the possibility that someone who’s very ill in an abusive situation could be coerced into making this choice. Another concern is that every other jurisdiction has shown that once you permit assisted suicide in some circumstances, then very rapidly the gate is opened and the law is broadened. We’ve seen that particularly in Canada and Australia. It doesn’t seem possible to hold this law; it expands and more people want more choice. As you mentioned, as the Leadbeater bill went through Parliament the majority in favour got progressively smaller. Do you think the Church’s voice impacted that? The Church raised its voice and particularly I want to thank all those members of the public who wrote to their MPs. The Church has its influence through its people. People write to their MPs, they state their preferences, they state their reactions to a bill and that’s how the Church has influence through the consciences of individual people who then write to their MPs. So yes I do think it had an influence. Some Catholics complain that the Church needs to be more forthright and needs to speak in stronger language when it comes to these kinds of issues. What’s your take on that? Bishops and Catholic parliamentarians have opposed this bill strongly and spoken out, written about it and there’s been a strong voice during this past parliament and again as we approach this second reading on the Sept. 11. You will see that many bishops have made statements and I’m sure if you analyzed it there’s more public statements by bishops, and more correspondence by lay professional Catholics, on this matter than many other issues. Are you optimistic for the upcoming second reading? Optimism is a difficult word. The word I would use is hopeful. I’m hopeful that we can defeat it because of the power of prayer and the opposition that has been generated by not only Catholics but people of goodwill, people of other religions who recognize the shortcomings of this bill. So I’m hopeful that it could be defeated. Also it’s important to recognize that the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, commented that we should firstly sort out social care and proper provision for palliative care in our country before we debate assisted suicide. Now, we don’t have time to do that. He didn’t reject assisted suicide, but he said that we need to focus with a priority on social care and palliative care. I would hope that parliamentarians will also hear that and that will shape their view not to support this bill. Let’s get the proper palliative and social care worked out first so that many people will not want to resort to assisted suicide because they will be better able to live with terminal illness in a fragile condition till the end of their natural life.

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