Hindu Council UK: “Compassion ought always over-ride the argument for the sacredness of life”

Anil Bahnot, one of the founding members of Hindu Council UK , wrote a letter to The Times published last week (March 26th £ ) in which he explained the tolerant Hindu attitude to assisted dying for terminally ill adults:

“Compassion ought always over-ride the argument for the sacredness of life”

“Hindu Council UK’s view has always been that provided terminally illness for a patient in incessant pain can be certified by three independent doctors then compassion ought always over-ride the argument for the sacredness of life, particularly where life is merely extended by artificial means purely for the sake of it and without regard to the suffering and the impending death. To us ‘Death’ itself is not a terminal event but merely a transition to a new life under the doctrine of Reincarnation, until one’s Moksha or Nirvana, as experienced under the laws of Karma.”

The comment from Hindu Council UK is extremely welcome and correlates with our previous findings that the majority of the British religious public support assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

The full letter is available on the Hindu Council UK website