I have noted my thoughts on assisted suicide on here before. Broadly speaking, while I think that people should ultimately have a right to choose what to do with their lives, and this should include ending them, I share the concern of others that, should the upcoming bill become law, terminally ill and vulnerable people will feel coerced and pressured into taking the suicide option. This concern is obviously shared by many others in the disabled community. Watching the issue being reported on the evening news just now though, I have to say that I’m not happy that the opposition to this change in the law seems to be being championed by religious leaders or clergy. The BBC report showed various bishops etc saying why this bill was such a mistake, but my opposition to it has nothing to do with religion. You don’t have to believe in any imaginary creator-beings to worry about the problems and issues this law may cause. More to the point, such reporting simply reinforces the wholly baseless, unearned authority such religious leaders claim: they were not voted into their positions, nor do they possess any special academic qualifications, yet they claim a right to appear on the evening news bulletin to give their opinions on a rather critical issue. Their authority is derived from a few outdated, debunked myths, but by framing these people in such a way, such authority is perpetuated and reinforced. I’m surely not the only person to see that as quite screwed up.