Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri:

I agree with what the Senator says and I know where she is coming from. The Islamic perspective that I am sharing here is not because we believe that this is what the law should be. We were asked and invited to come and share an Islamic perspective but we believe in a pluralist approach, where there should be religious freedom and people should be entitled to have the opportunity to choose what they like. We are in favour of choice in that sense but we have some concerns. These are not just concerns from the Islamic perspective but also just as general people. Our concerns are that if we legalise assisted death, there will be individuals with health issues like depression who will choose death. At the same time, this may increase pressure on people with disabilities or elderly people, who may think that right now they are a burden on their families and the State, and this is probably why it is best for them to die. Third, if we do legalise assisted death, what about the healthcare system? Is it not the case somehow that the healthcare system will invest much less in treatment and other ways to minimise pain, and then say, "You know what? We have this option. Let us just go for this option". This is the perspective we are coming from.

In the case of Muslim doctors, as long as there is consent to subjection and as long as that is applicable, from an Islamic perspective we have no issue with it. That is the main concern. We are not here to say that the State should be run by faith. We are saying that this is our perspective but the State should be a pluralist one. It should be a state where we acknowledge and accept diversity, and also give everybody the choice to practice upon their faith and build values.