The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, the Church of England’s lead bishop for health and social care, has responded to the Government impact assessments on the bill to introduce assisted suicide in England and Wales.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), together with the Ministry of Justice, published a main assessment and an equality impact assessment on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday.

Bishop Sarah said: “The impact assessment of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill makes for chilling reading as it highlights particular groups who would be put at risk by a change in the law, including those who are subject to health inequalities, and those vulnerable to domestic abuse.

“It also sets out the financial savings of introducing an assisted dying service, through reduction in care costs, palliative and end of life care costs and state-provided benefits.

“It is crude to see these cost savings set out in this way, and it is easy to see how numbers of this nature could contribute to someone feeling that they should pursue an assisted death rather than receive care.

“Each human life is immeasurably more valuable than the money that may be saved through their premature death.

“Every person is made in the image of God and holds an irreducible value that is worthy of care and support until the end of their life.

“We must oppose any change in the law that puts the vulnerable at risk rather than working to improve access to desperately needed palliative care services.”