The private member's bill, sponsored by Labour's Rob Marris, was defeated 330-118, with 220 MPs absent at the vote on September 11.

Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark said he hoped the result meant that this would be an end to the debate on assisted dying.

"I welcome Parliament's recognition of the grave risks that this bill posed to the lives of our society's most vulnerable people," he said.

"There is much excellent practice in palliative care which we need to celebrate and promote, and I hope now the debate on assisted suicide is behind us, that this will become a focus for political action.

"I am encouraged by the participation of so many Catholics throughout England and Wales in this important discussion and hope that everyone involved will continue to support calls for better quality care as life nears its end," he added.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was firmly against the bill becoming law.

Ahead of the vote, Catholic and Anglican leaders urged the faithful to contact their MPs to oppose the bill.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster said he believes this grassroots opposition played a role in the measure's defeat.

"I thank all Catholics in our parishes who took the time to write to or visit their Member of Parliament to express their concern about the bill," he said.

"It was an important moment of witness to our Christian faith and the value it places on each and every human life."

Sources

• The Tablet
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: The Guardian

On Friday, the House of Commons will debate the Assisted Dying (No 2) Bill, put forward by Labour's Rob Marris.

The bill would allow patients judged as having no more than six months to live, and who had a "clear and settled intention" to end their lives, to be prescribed a lethal dose of drugs.

Two doctors and a family court judge would have to assess the patient's diagnosis and prognosis, and check that he or she was mentally competent to make a judgment, free of coercion.

The patient would then have to administer the lethal medication themselves, with a healthcare professional present.

In an extraordinary show of unity on Sunday, the heads of Britain's Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities wrote a joint letter to every MP urging them to throw out the assisted dying bill.

The faith leaders, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, stated their main concern is pastoral.

"The bill has the potential to affect the lives of a great number of people whose circumstances make them vulnerable in different ways," the faith leaders wrote.

"If passed, it will directly affect not only those who are terminally ill and who wish to end their lives, but also their families and friends and the health professionals who care for them.

"It also has the potential to have a significant impact on other vulnerable individuals: those who believe that they have become burdens to family and carers and feel under pressure within themselves to ‘do the decent thing' and, tragically, those who might be pressured by others to seek a medically assisted death."

Already burdened, vulnerable people should not have to bear the added burden of having to consider ending their lives prematurely, the faith leaders wrote.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Justin Welby, said Britain would cross "a legal and ethical Rubicon" if the bill becomes law.

Sources

• The Guardian
• The Guardian
• Image: Gov.uk

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, several [Anglican] bishops, priests and rabbis argued that, far from being a sin, helping terminally ill people to commit suicide should be viewed simply as enabling them to "gracefully hand back" their lives to God.

There is, they insisted "nothing sacred" about suffering in itself and no one should be "obliged to endure it".

But those who want to continue life until the last breath should be supported, they noted.

Signatories of the letter include Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who stunned the Church of England last year when he announced that he had changed his mind on the issue.

The Bishop of Buckingham, the Rt Rev Alan Wilson, and a handful of Anglican clerics were also among the signatories - despite the Church of England's official opposition to a change in the law - as was Baroness Richardson, first female President of the Methodist Conference.

Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism and Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain a leading figure in Reform Judaism, also supported the call.

UK MPs are due to debate an assisted dying bill tabled by Labour's Rob Marris next month.

It would allow people thought to have no more than six months to live and a "settled intention" to end their life to be allowed to be given a lethal dose of drugs on the authority of two doctors.

Most of the major religious groups in the UK have voiced opposition.

Last month, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster said "the right to die is someone else's duty to kill".

Preaching at Lourdes, Cardinal Nichols quoted Pope Francis: "It is a great lie to try and convince people that life lived with serious illness is not worth living."

The cardinal continued: "This is why we oppose those who wish to pass laws assisting suicide, giving people the right to die when they want."

Sources

• The Telegraph
• The Tablet
• Image: The Guardian