A grandfather and father of five, given six months to live, is speaking out against the ‘assisted suicide’ Bill ahead of its second reading in Parliament tomorrow.
A former pastor, Philip was told earlier this year that he has pancreatic cancer and lung cancer, and was not expected to live beyond six months.
Since then, his tumour has not progressed as doctors expected and he has spent valuable time with friends and family.
“There is no way our society should be encouraging or facilitating people committing suicide”, Philip says, “That is just not what a caring or compassionate society does.”
Philip does not want to disclose his surname or his age, but he is married with five grown-up children, and some grandchildren.
In May this year, a CT scan showed a lesion on his pancreas. He went into hospital in July, where a doctor told him that he was not expected to live beyond six months.
He and his wife were in tears as they heard the news. They found consolation in their faith in Jesus, with prayer and worship.
Chemotherapy was discussed, but Philip was told that in a similar position Steve Jobs had turned down chemotherapy as it would only be expected to add a few months to his life whilst significantly impairing his quality of life.
Deciding chemotherapy wasn’t an option for him, Philip and his wife prayed that the tumour would not grow, and better still, shrink and disappear.
So far, it appears that their prayers have been answered. The consultant report of the most recent scan said, ‘The appearances are all stable and there is no obvious evidence of any progression of either the pancreatic or the lung disease, although the appearances are still suspicious of cancer,’ – a result which the doctor said would be regarded as a ‘success’ if he had taken chemotherapy.
Still, naturally speaking, doctors do not expect Philip to live for many more months. This means that Philip would qualify for assisted suicide if Kim Leadbeater’s bill became law.
‘People don’t realise how serious death is’
Choosing to speak out against legalising assisted suicide, Philip said: “I want to live until God decides it’s time for me to die. I don’t know how I will die, and I don’t want to know how I will die.
“After death, I know that I will go to a better world because I believe in Jesus. There is a reality of judgement for those who don’t know Jesus.
“Death is a one-way trip. You don’t pop up again like in computer games. People don’t realise how serious death is.
“I have a neighbour who was given six months to live decades ago. He is now 67 years old. Imagine if he had been persuaded to commit suicide.
“I witnessed my mother’s death. She had breast cancer and was in terrible pain. I had to wipe imaginary rats off her chest while caring for her. Near the end she prayed that God would either heal her or take her life. Just two days later she died, and I saw it as a clear answer to prayer. She died with dignity.
“Medicine has moved on a lot since then. Doctors are able to manage pain at the end of life with palliative care. I have paid taxes all my life so I don’t see why that shouldn’t be available for me.
“I feel for those who want to commit suicide, but as a society we should want to provide care and medicine rather than helping people commit suicide.
“If we allow the law to change so that some people can have assisted suicide it will quickly broaden out so that more people qualify for assisted suicide. This is what we have seen in Canada where people without anything like a terminal illness can have state assistance to commit suicide.
“A society where the state facilitates suicide is a horrendous prospect, and quite frankly not the sort of society I want to live in.
“Some years ago, as a pastor, I was asked to visit a man who was terminally ill. I went to the hospital and talked and prayed with him. There and then he gave his life to Christ, and I saw how he experienced a great peace in his heart. As I walked out of the hospital to the car, his nurse phoned me to say he had just died. His eternal destiny had been changed. Imagine if he had committed suicide beforehand. His eternal destiny would have been different. We cannot aid people in taking their lives ahead of when God wants them to go.
“If there are any MPs reading this, I urge you to vote against the Bill! Vulnerable people should never be presented with suicide as an option. We should care for people and love them not suggest they commit suicide. I hope MPs vote to kill the Bill – not the ill.”
‘Vulnerable should not be offered suicide option’
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said: “Philip’s story is powerful. He is living with a terminal diagnosis and his message is clear – kill the Bill – not the ill.
“A caring and compassionate society would never offer to facilitate suicide. That is the very opposite of caring and compassionate.
“Vulnerable people should not be offered suicide as an option.
“It is deeply shocking that this bill specifically allows doctors to raise the option of assisted suicide with vulnerable patients at their sole discretion. Doctors should not be allowed to suggest suicide to any patient.
“I hope that MPs listen to Philip’s story and his plea. It is the bill that should be killed, not vulnerable patients.”