Archbishop of York urges Anglicans to fight on against assisted dying bill

Anglicans should work to "withstand and even turn back" the forces of public opinion "that risk making assisted dying a reality in our national life", the archbishop of York has said.

- Esther Addley

Speaking to the Church of England's general synod, Stephen Cottrell said permitting assisted dying would "change for ever the contract between doctor and patient, pressurising the vulnerable and assuming an authority over death that belongs to God alone".

MPs voted last month to pass a bill giving some terminally ill adults in England and Wales the legal right to be assisted to end their lives. It now moves to the House of Lords, where 26 Anglican bishops sit, for further scrutiny.