JUST recently, two of the town's MPs have written to me, and to other religious leaders in Bolton, expressing their concern that current Government thinking, and current trends in case law, are leading the country towards euthanasia, writes Michael Williams, Vicar of Bolton Parish Church.

Their campaign to raise awareness was highlighted in the BEN on Friday, October 20, and the Bishop of Bolton has backed their campaign.

I am all for this campaign to raise issues. Doctors and other health care professionals have hugely difficult decisions to make about matters concerning life and death, and it is not right for us to leave all the responsibility to them or to the legal profession. We, the public, must play our part in the debate and our concerns must be heard.

But I am less worried than the MPs are about withdrawal of artificial nutrition. If a patient has been for a long time in a persistent vegetative state and is only being kept alive by artificial feeding, then I can see circumstances where it would be right to allow doctors to discontinue this artificial feeding. This is not euthanasia by another name.

Most religious traditions suggest that the important thing is death with dignity. They also suggest that there comes a point in treatment when the natural process of dying should be allowed to happen. letting people die and letting people die with dignity is the important thing. Modern medical techniques are very powerful. They can sustain people in a persistent vegetative state almost indefinitely. The crucial question is at what point we allow the natural process to take over. My own view is that a court, which listens to all sides, should make such decisions.

Another important principle is the respect we must give to patients who come to a point where they decide to refuse further treatment. If all the facts have been explained to them, and if they think it through carefully, then their wishes should be respected.

Because these matters are so important, the Town Centre Churches are running four sessions on Thursday lunchtimes leading up to Christmas to discuss them. The first one is at 12.45 on Thursday, November 30, in Bolton Parish Church Hall.