Humanists reflect on RE reform and assisted dying defeat

Remarkably it’s the second largest All Party Group, after Electoral Reform, and comprises members from both Houses including Labour, Tory, Lib Dem, Green and nationalists. I was invited through my role as an accredited school speaker for Humanists UK.

It was a chance to reflect on the past year. One success is the incorporation of Religious Education in the national curriculum, alongside a requirement to include the teaching of Humanism. This comes after decades of campaigning.

Another advance is taking abortion out of the criminal code in relation to women ending their own pregnancies. This long overdue reform of Victorian era law is a milestone in the forward march for dignity and personal autonomy.

The defeat of the Assisted Dying Bill was of course a setback. It was originally introduced by Humanist MP Kim Leadbeater. The meeting expressed sorrow for the thousands who, as a result, will still be forced to endure an agonising death in cases where no amount of palliative care can offer respite. There was anger at misinformation propagated about the Bill by opponents, and their manipulation of archaic parliamentary processes to frustrate reform. Above all there was determination to maintain the pressure for change.

The path to winning freedom over how we choose to live is always rocky. Reformers will invariably be up against those who want to dictate our lives and resist change, often led by religious conservatives. Campaigners must inure themselves to disappointment and be ready to play the long game. It’s exemplified by the centuries of struggle for women’s rights. Humanists, including notable East Londoners, have consistently been at the forefront of this. An early pioneer was Mary Wollstonecraft, born Spitalfields 1759, best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman where she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men. Annie Besant, prominent in the Matchgirls Strike in Bow, was prosecuted in 1877 for publishing a book on contraception. Sylvia Pankhurst, who latterly lived in Woodford, was a leading suffragette who helped secure women’s right to vote. All were up against it. It is only through such efforts that progress has been achieved.

Dozens of enlightened jurisdictions now allow their citizens to choose a dignified death. They include Australia, Canada and Spain. They were joined in August by France. Reform here should only be a matter of time. ENDS. 400 Words.