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Assisted dying: Image of a terminally ill patient with a doctor

The assisted dying debate – should assisted suicide be legal in the UK?

Will legalising assisted dying in the UK lead to a slippery slope, and put vulnerable people at risk? Or is it right that we afford people dignity and autonomy in determining the circumstances of their death? With the UK recently passing the End of Life Bill, here’s what both sides have to say.

The Cragged
12–18 minutes

Contents

In 2024, the UK passed the Terminally Adults (End of Life) Bill – to allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life; and for connected purposes.

While there’s a chance the Bill doesn’t make it through the final legislative hurdles, it is likely it will become law at some point in 2025. The final vote is scheduled for 20th June 2025.

Was Parliament right to pass the bill and should they vote to make it law?

Learn about the broader arguments on the assisted dying debate, and see what we can learn from other countries that have legalised assisted dying – although regulations and practices vary in different jurisdictions.

The Context

Overview

Assisted dying is the act of helping someone end their life through a legally approved process, such as ‘physician approved dying’ or ‘medical assistance in dying’ (MAiD). In jurisdictions where it has been legalised, the process typically requires the approval of medical practitioners and a judge. 

A bill was passed in November 2024, which is now going to be put through months of scrutiny by MPs and peers.1

There are some nuances in the terms different people use. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) lays out these differences:

  • Assisted dying: Prescribing life ending drugs for terminally ill, mentally competent adults to administer themselves after meeting strict legal safeguards.
  • Assisted suicide: Giving assistance to die to people with long term progressive conditions and other people who are not dying, in addition to patients with a terminal illness. The drugs are self administered.
  • Voluntary euthanasia: A doctor directly administering life ending drugs to a patient who has given consent.

People disagree on whether the distinctions are meaningful.2

Origins

Currently, 200 million people live in territories where it’s legal:

  • Assisted dying is legal in seven US states and in Victoria, Australia. 
  • Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland. 
  • Voluntary euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands. 
  • Canada has legalised both assisted dying and voluntary euthanasia.
Purpose

The assisted dying bill will give someone with a terminal illness the ability to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life.

These are the criteria by which someone would be eligible, based on the current bill:

  • Those taking part must be 18 or over and registered with a GP.
  • A life-expectancy of six months.
  • Must have the “mental capacity” to make the decision.
  • A “clear, settled and informed” wish to die.
  • Two independent doctors must sign off on the decision.
  • The person must officially confirm they wish to die on two separate occasions.3

The requirement for a judge to consider the application has been removed since the bill was originally tabled.4

The Arguments

For

Assisted dying would restore patient autonomy, dignity and choice

We already accept that people should have autonomy over their medical choices; the same principle should apply to people’s ability to control how they die. At the moment, the medical status quo is paternalistic, and prevents people from controlling the circumstances around their deaths.567

Californian Brittany Maynard suffered from terminal brain cancer and took her life at the age of 29 in 2014, after relocating to Oregon, where assisted dying was legal. Maynard concluded that the treatments available to her would have worsened her remaining life. She asked: ‘How dare the government make decisions or limit options for terminally-ill people like me?’891011

In another case that highlights the importance of autonomy, Alex Pandolfo was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, having already witnessed the decline of his parents through incurable and difficult diseases. He has decided to travel to Switzerland in order to prevent future suffering, to protect his loved ones, and to die with dignity – in an open and transparent way, which suicide might not afford.12

Currently, people in the UK have to travel abroad to reclaim dignity in their death. An assisted dying law would provide people the option of a dignified, comfortable death in the company of their family at their own homes.

Indeed, people used to die at home, and we’ve only recently become accustomed to the idea that death should be in a hospital attached to machines that are prolonging life beyond the point of good quality.13

It will relieve extreme suffering

The goal of medicine is to relieve patients from the suffering that comes from illness. This is one of the most powerful arguments in favour of assisted dying for those who have witnessed the pain of their loved ones. The BBC reported on Anil Douglas, who witnessed his father in ‘agonising neurological pain’ before his suicide. He warned that ‘the current law as it stands is dangerous and it leads people to take decisions that are lonely, isolating, and incredibly risky.’14

While palliative care is crucial, it cannot ensure a peaceful end to life. Baroness Blackstone argued this case in a Lords debate a 2014 bill to legalise assisted dying (which ultimately wasn’t passed), based on the suffering she’d witnessed in her husband’s death. She recounted him saying, ‘I just want this to come to an end’ and acknowledged that palliative care has limits for those who are suffering from unbearable pain.151617

Safer and more humane than the alternatives

People already help others to die by helping them travel to other countries where it’s legal – often incurring a steep emotional and financial cost (it can cost £10,000 to travel to Switzerland with Dignitas), and opening themselves up to legal risk. According to Dignity in Dying, 44% of people would break the law to help a loved one die. Legalising assisted dying within a regulated framework could provide a more accessible and controlled option.18

Bernhard Sutter, director of the Swiss assisted dying society EXIT, has pointed to the 100% success rate of lethal drugs, with ‘practically no complications’.19

If people do travel abroad, they have to consider terminating their life sooner because they have to be well enough to undertake the travel. Assisted dying in the UK would ensure that people are supported by their local healthcare system, rather than having to undertake the risks that come with travel abroad.

Legalising assisted dying in the UK would provide people living here with legal safeguards in their own jurisdiction, rather than having to travel overseas, meaning that the UK can build in its own safeguards and monitor how effectively the law is implemented and complied with, as has been the case in other jurisdictions.202122

The law is inconsistent and not in keeping with public opinion

Recent surveys have shown nearly three quarters of British citizens support physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill – and only 9% oppose it.2324 MPs are not keeping pace with public sentiment on the issue. A poll commissioned by the Campaign for Dignity in Dying found that 78% of disabled respondents support making it lawful to seek assisted dying.2526

The popularity of the proposal extends to religious groups: the Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying found that 80% of people with faith from across the religious spectrum supported assisted dying for terminally ill adults with mental capacity.272829

Prosecutors already avoid penalising compassionate cases, with the guidance stating that a prosecution is less likely if, ‘the victim had reached a voluntary, clear, settled and informed decision to commit suicide’ or ‘the suspect was wholly motivated by compassion.’ This highlights the need for proper legislation on this issue.30313233

Medical guidance already provides for the decision to end life-sustaining treatment, including safeguards to protect vulnerable people and ensure that decisions are made voluntarily. The law should catch up on the issue of assisted dying. Doctors would have a conscientious objector clause, so no physician would be coerced into participating in someone’s assisted death.3435

It’s worked in other countries

Other countries have implemented assisted dying legislation effectively. Over 200 million people currently have legal access to assisted dying.36

In Oregon, which has had a safe and effective assisted dying law for 20 years, advocates argue that there has been no abuse of the system and former opponents are now proponents of the law. Besides, palliative care has flourished and religious leaders and the former leader of the Oregon Hospice Association now support the legislation. 3738

In 2017, assisted deaths made up 0.4% of all deaths in Oregon. Even Senator Ron Wyden, who once voted against the Death with Dignity Act as a private citizen, changed his position to become a supporter, saying:

“[The law’s] opponents have warned there would be abuses and a stampede to Oregon. The law has not been abused…my fears concerning the poor elderly were thankfully never realized… The Death With Dignity Act has brought about improvement in many areas.”39

Against

No level of safeguard will ever be enough

The proposed UK law would legalise assisted dying for patients suffering from a terminal illness with six months or less to live, but it’s hard to predict that prognosis accurately. There are cases of people living well beyond the expected timeframe of a terminal diagnosis, and proper palliative care can transform a patient’s future.40 The Guardian quotes Professor Mark Taubert, a consultant in palliative medicine:

“I’ve had it go both ways. I’ve had cancer patients who I’ve thought would die over a weekend, who I have seen in my clinic again five years later… Most doctors have come a cropper with this.”41

The former president of the family division of the UK’s High Court has warned that the safeguards in the 2024 UK bill ‘fall lamentably short’ because of the lack of scrutiny and procedure.42

Physicians in territories where assisted dying is legal report people changing their mind when underlying mental health conditions are addressed or with alternative treatments.43

In the Netherlands, criminal investigations have been opened in multiple cases of voluntary euthanasia. In one case, a 74-year-old woman with dementia, who’d requested assisted death, was restrained by her daughter and husband while it took place. The prosecution argued that “a more intensive discussion with the patient” could have taken place before her decision.44

Other countries have seen problems with record keeping, compliance, and the administering of lethal drugs. One study pointed to ‘the prevalence of…complications’ from assisted death drugs, which can lead to “traumatic” bereavements for family.454647

The risks of exploitation and fallibility are too high

Human error is inevitable. With all the safeguards in the world, there’s a risk the law will be exploited. Physicians in the US have warned about requests for assisted dying that have been approved without the necessary mental health checks. Meanwhile, coercion is incredibly hard to detect, prevent and subsequently identify.48 In pain or old age, confusion and unclear thinking can take hold. Doctors have pointed to the fact that “ruling out the presence of clinical depression that may cloud a patient’s judgment is not always straightforward.”4950

Meanwhile, studies have shown that changes of mind at the point of death aren’t uncommon. Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, have been seen in patients that change their mind. 51

High risk outcomes like death require the highest thresholds. There’s no guarantee that health practitioners can provide an objective, consistent standard of evaluation in these cases.525354

It will rewrite our expectations of the medical profession

Doctors support patients to live well for as long as possible; they don’t work to expedite their deaths. Assisted dying would erode patient-doctor trust, especially with vulnerable or elderly patients who might become nervous that health professionals would see death as an easier solution, compared to treatment or pain management.55

While patient autonomy is important in modern medicine, it shouldn’t always be prioritised over patient welfare. There’s a risk that irrevocable harm is done to vulnerable patients through an assisted dying law.56

Equally, society shouldn’t impose upon physicians the moral right to participate in the determination of the time and circumstances of a patient’s death. There is evidence that physicians have experienced ‘profound’ adverse emotional and psychological effects after participating in physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.5758 The BMJ found only 50% of doctors supported a change in the law; only 36% would ‘be willing to participate in any way in the process.’59

Over 1,0000 doctors have written to MPs urging them to vote against the bill.60

The NHS and social care systems in the UK are under great strain. Asking doctors to make a final determination on the circumstances and timing of a patient’s death is an unfair and unrealistic expectation. We would forever change our expectations of the profession.616263

It would pressure the vulnerable. Palliative care should be the focus

Palliative care has made huge progress in recent years, and the priority should be improving and scaling access to it. It’s insulting to the elderly, to carers, and to families to suggest there’s no alternative to assisted death.6465

Legalising assisted dying would normalise the process and permanently alter society’s attitude towards the elderly, seriously ill, disabled, and other vulnerable groups – especially those who cannot afford good care. Canada has seen cases of poor, disabled people resorting to euthanasia. Better social support might have turned their circumstances around, but, instead, assisted dying has become another option for people to weigh up in their health options – sometimes even an expectation.66676869707172

Disabled actor Liz Carr reported on how disabled people report how often they hear people say how they hear people say they’d kill themselves if they were in their health position. She argues that the risks of assisted dying are too high for disabled people, who are already marginalised.7374

Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson argues that terminal illnesses often come with disabilities, an example of the inevitable risks to disabled people in this legislation. She’s also pointed to the cautionary tale of Christine Gauthier, a disabled Paralympian in Canada who asked for a disability lift to be installed in her home and was instead offered euthanasia.757677787980

It’s a slippery slope. Life is sacred, and the law should be more conservative 

Once the law changes, it opens the door to further liberalisation.81 In Belgium, euthanasia was legalised in 2002; the law was extended in 2014 to terminally ill children. In 2002, 24 people were euthanised; between 2016-17, 4,337 people were. The range of causes include: depression, blindness, deafness, gender-identity crisis and anorexia. Meanwhile, one person convicted of rape and murder was euthanised.82

Similarly, in the Netherlands and in Oregon, the number of deaths continues to increase year on year: in the former, the high profile case of Aurelia Brouwers, a 29-year old with mental health and psychiatric illnesses but no physical illness, was a clear example of the ‘slippery slope’ argument at work.8384

Cases have shown the risks associated with legalising assisted dying. In 2024, Alastair Hamilton went to Switzerland for an assisted death without his family’s knowledge. They believed he could have recovered from depression. While the 2024 UK bill would only apply to people with a terminal illness, there is the risk that this step will open the door to the law evolving further over time, putting more vulnerable people at risk. Moreover, reports from other countries have revealed the emotional toll families can feel from being involved in the assisted dying process.85868788

Meanwhile, only 45% of the general public support changing the law for non-terminally ill patients as of October 2024, compared with 73% in favour for terminally ill patients. If palliative care improves and if medical science can turn terminal illnesses into non-terminal ones, public perception of the issue would change: that’s where our focus should be.8990

Religious leaders and care providers have argued for the sanctity of life, that we should live in a life-affirming culture, and that we should accept and support the weakness and frailty that can accompany the end of life.9192

Enter the debate

Enter the debate

Add a comment below to share your view.

This article aims to provide a general introduction to a complex debate. Our goal is to create healthier disagreements, in which people consider both sides of an argument.

If you want to submit a revision, please leave a comment below with your proposed edit, including your sources.

2 responses to “The assisted dying debate – should assisted suicide be legal in the UK?”

  1. Ilios Avatar
    Ilios

    I think it’s a slippery slope. MPs should not vote for this.

    Reply
  2. Craig Stokes Avatar
    Craig Stokes

    If a person’s continued existence will be nothing but pain and suffering, they should be allowed the option to end it. This isn’t to allow doctors to end people whenever they want, it’s to allow people to have themselves ended when they don’t have any other options that aren’t agony.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

External links

Video

Reading

Footnotes

  1. Michelle Roberts, Assisted dying bill: What is in proposed law?, BBC News, ↩︎
  2.  Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill [HL], UK Parliament, Parliamentary Bills, 2024 ↩︎
  3.  Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill [HL], UK Parliament, Parliamentary Bills, 2024 ↩︎
  4. MPs scrap judge sign-off in assisted dying bill, BBC News, 2025 ↩︎
  5. Six reasons we need an assisted dying law, Humanists UK, 2023 ↩︎
  6. E.H., The case for and against assisted dying, The Economist, 2018 ↩︎
  7. Lydia S Dugdale, Barron H Lerner and Daniel Callahan. Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying. Yale J Biol Med. 2019 Dec 20;92(4):747-750. ↩︎
  8. Brittany Maynard, My right to death with dignity at 29, CNN, 2014 ↩︎
  9. Death with dignity advocate Brittany Maynard ends her life, CBS News, 2014 ↩︎
  10. California lawmakers approve right-to-die legislation, CBS News, 2015 ↩︎
  11. Jon, LaPook, Brittany Maynard's right-to-die movement continues, CBS News, 2015 ↩︎
  12. Man With Alzheimer’s On Choosing An Assisted Death | Minutes With | ‪@ladbiblestories‬ ↩︎
  13. The truth about assisted dying | Dr. Stefanie Green | TEDxSurrey ↩︎
  14. Kate Whannel and Vicki Young, MPs to get first vote on assisted dying for nine years, BBC News, 2024 ↩︎
  15. Lydia S Dugdale, Barron H Lerner and Daniel Callahan. Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying. Yale J Biol Med. 2019 Dec 20;92(4):747-750. ↩︎
  16. Assisted Dying Bill [HL], Volume 755: debated on Friday 18 July 2014, ↩︎
  17. Lord Falconers Assisted Dying Bill (2014), Campaign for Dignity in Dying, 2024 ↩︎
  18. The Facts, Campaign for Dignity in Dying, 2024 ↩︎
  19. Written evidence submitted by Bernhard Sutter, EXIT Deutsche Schweiz (Switzerland) (ADY0520), UK Parliament Committees, 2023 ↩︎
  20. Key arguments used in the debate on physician-assisted dying, BMA, 2021 ↩︎
  21. Lydia S Dugdale, Barron H Lerner and Daniel Callahan. Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying. Yale J Biol Med. 2019 Dec 20;92(4):747-750. ↩︎
  22. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Sciences Policy. Physician-Assisted Death: Scanning the Landscape: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2017 Jun 27. 3, Experiences with and Reflections on Physician-Assisted Death in the United States. ↩︎
  23. Matthew Smith, Three quarters of Britons support doctor-assisted suicide. Just one in three MPs say the same, YouGov Surveys, 2021 ↩︎
  24. Key arguments used in the debate on physician-assisted dying, BMA, 2021 ↩︎
  25. Tom Shakesepeare, 'A quiet majority of disabled people support assisted dying. I’m one of them.', 2024 ↩︎
  26. The views of disabled people within the assisted dying debate, My Death, My Decision, 2024 ↩︎
  27. Public opinion, Campaign for Dignity in Dying, 2024 ↩︎
  28. Written evidence submitted by Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying (ADY0241), UK Parliament Committees, 2023 ↩︎
  29. Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying, Campaign for Dignity in Dying, 2024 ↩︎
  30. Mental Capacity Act, NHS,  2024 ↩︎
  31. Mental Capacity Act 2005, legislation.gov.uk ↩︎
  32. Suicide: Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide, Crown Prosecution Service, 2024 ↩︎
  33. Jon Ungoed-Thomas, Suspects in assisted dying cases wait far too long on prosecution decision, says ex-DPP, The Guardian, 2024 ↩︎
  34. Withdrawing treatment, NHS, 2024 ↩︎
  35. Assisted dying debate: Lord Moore vs Lord Falconer ↩︎
  36. What is assisted dying and how could the law change?, BBC News, 2024 ↩︎
  37. Oregon, USA, Campaign for Dignity in Dying, 2024 ↩︎
  38. Chris McGreal, How Oregon’s right-to-die law has inspired other US states and countries , The Guardian 2024 ↩︎
  39. Written evidence submitted by Dignity in Dying (ADY0418), UK Parliament Committees, 2023 ↩︎
  40. Benoit Beuselinck, Euthanasia Case Studies from Belgium: Concerns About Legislation and Hope for Palliative Care, The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, 2021 ↩︎
  41. Hannah Devlin, Prognosis is not an exact science’: NHS doctors consider practicalities of assisted dying, The Guardian, 2024 ↩︎
  42. Sir James Munby, ASSISTED DYING : WHAT ROLE FOR THE JUDGE? Some further thoughts, Transparency Project, 2024 ↩︎
  43. Dr. Charles Bentz: Physician Assisted Suicide, 2018 ↩︎
  44. Dutch euthanasia case: Doctor acted in interest of patient, court rules, BBC News, 2019 ↩︎
  45. Alexander Raikin, A Pattern of Noncompliance, the New Atlantis, 2024 ↩︎
  46. Worthington A, Finlay I, Regnard C. Efficacy and safety of drugs used for 'assisted dying'. Br Med Bull. 2022 Jul 9;142(1):15-22. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldac009. PMID: 35512347; PMCID: PMC9270985. ↩︎
  47. DR. EUGENIE ULRICA TJAN, (CPSO), 2018 ↩︎
  48. Sonia Sodha and Charles Falconer, The assisted dying debate: Charles Falconer and the Observer’s Sonia Sodha tackle the issues, The Guardian, 2024 ↩︎
  49. Sandeep Jauhar, When assisted suicide is not the answer, CNN, 2014 ↩︎
  50. Written evidence submitted by The Reverend Christopher Colven (ADY0172), UK Parliament Committees, 2023 ↩︎
  51. Marcoux I, Onwuteaka-Philipsen BD, Jansen-van der Weide MC, van der Wal G. Withdrawing an explicit request for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide: a retrospective study on the influence of mental health status and other patient characteristics. Psychol Med. 2005 Sep;35(9):1265-74. doi: 10.1017/S0033291705005465. PMID: 16168149. ↩︎
  52. Esther Braun, An autonomy-based approach to assisted suicide: a way to avoid the expressivist objection against assisted dying laws. J Med Ethics. 2023 Jul;49(7):497-501. doi: 10.1136/jme-2022-108375. Epub 2022 Sep 7. PMID: 36190931; PMCID: PMC10359509. ↩︎
  53. Berens NC and Kim SYH, Should Assessments of Decision-Making Capacity Be Risk-Sensitive? A Systematic Review. Front. Psychol., 2022, 13:897144. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897144 ↩︎
  54. John Wyatt, Assisted dying means a doctor’s best guess becomes a patient’s last day, LBC News, 2024 ↩︎
  55. Benoit Beuselinck, Euthanasia Case Studies from Belgium: Concerns About Legislation and Hope for Palliative Care, The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, 2021 ↩︎
  56. Jansen LA, Wall S, Miller FG, Drawing the line on physician-assisted death, Journal of Medical Ethics 2019;45:190-197 ↩︎
  57. Haverkate I, van der Heide A, Onwuteaka-Philipsen BD, van der Maas PJ, van der Wal G. The emotional impact on physicians of hastening the death of a patient. Med J Aust. 2001 Nov 19;175(10):519-22. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143707.x. PMID: 11795538 ↩︎
  58. Stevens KR Jr, Emotional and psychological effects of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia on participating physicians, Issues Law Med. 2006 Spring;21(3):187-200. PMID: 16676767. ↩︎
  59. Physician-assisted dying survey, BMA, 2024 ↩︎
  60. Megan Harwood-Baynes, Ashish Joshi and Mark Thompson, More than 1,000 doctors urge MPs to vote against assisted dying bill, Sky News, 2025 ↩︎
  61. Key arguments used in the debate on physician-assisted dying, BMA, 2021 ↩︎
  62. John Wyatt, Assisted dying means a doctor’s best guess becomes a patient’s last day, LBC News, 2024 ↩︎
  63. BGS Position Statement on Assisted Dying (Physician Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Active Euthanasia), British Geriatric Society ↩︎
  64. Assisted dying debate: Lord Moore vs Lord Falconer ↩︎
  65. Sarah Ditum, We’ll regret this rush towards assisted dying, The Times, 2024 ↩︎
  66. Jansen LA, Wall S, Miller FG, Drawing the line on physician-assisted death, Journal of Medical Ethics 2019;45:190-197. ↩︎
  67. Leyland Cecco, Are Canadians being driven to assisted suicide by poverty or healthcare crisis?, The Guardian, 2022 ↩︎
  68. Yuan Yi Zhu, Why is Canada euthanising the poor?, The spectator, 2022 ↩︎
  69. Fergus Walsh, Guernsey to vote on assisted dying, BBC News, 2018 ↩︎
  70. Steven Edginton, Canadian Paralympian: I asked for a disability ramp - and was offered euthanasia, The Daily Telegraph, 2023 ↩︎
  71. Who can die? Canada wrestles with euthanasia for the mentally ill, BBC News, 2023 ↩︎
  72. Parliamentary group uncovers assisted suicide horror stories and lack of regulation, Right To Life, 2021 ↩︎
  73. Better Off Dead? BBC, 2024 ↩︎
  74. Key arguments used in the debate on physician-assisted dying, BMA, 2021 ↩︎
  75. Tanni Grey-Thompson, Assisted suicide: a chilling prospect for disabled people, The Times, 2013 ↩︎
  76.  Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson warns against assisted dying law change, 2024 ↩︎
  77. Champion paralympic medallist urges MPs to reconsider assisted dying support ↩︎
  78. 'Big consequences' if UK changes law on assisted dying, says Paralympian Baroness Grey-Thompson, 2024 ↩︎
  79. David Maddox, Tanni Grey-Thompson: Assisted dying bill will allow families to go ‘doctor shopping’ to end lives of relatives, The Independent, 2024 ↩︎
  80. Tom Yun, Paralympian trying to get wheelchair ramp says Veterans Affairs employee offered her assisted dying, CTV News, 2023 ↩︎
  81. Kit Heren, Terminally ill can end their lives in just 21 days under new proposed assisted dying laws LBC News, 2024 ↩︎
  82. Jansen LA, Wall S, Miller FG, Drawing the line on physician-assisted death, Journal of Medical Ethics 2019;45:190-197. ↩︎
  83. Harriet Sherwood, A woman’s final Facebook message before euthanasia: ‘I’m ready for my trip now...’, The Guardian, 2018 ↩︎
  84. James Mildred, ​​The slippery slope of assisted dying is real, The Economist, 2018 ↩︎
  85. A Mother's Warning on Assisted Dying After Son's Death in Switzerland ↩︎
  86. Paul Brand, Swiss clinic which helped British man, 47, to die in secret apologises for failures, ITV News, 2024 ↩︎
  87. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Sciences Policy. Physician-Assisted Death: Scanning the Landscape: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2017 Jun 27. 3, Experiences with and Reflections on Physician-Assisted Death in the United States. ↩︎
  88. Christopher de Bellaigue, Death on demand: has euthanasia gone too far?, The Guardian, 2019 ↩︎
  89. Public and professional opinion on physician-assisted dying, BMA, 2023 ↩︎
  90. Should the law be changed to allow someone to assist in the suicide of someone suffering from an incurable but NOT terminal illness?, YouGov Surveys, 2024 ↩︎
  91. Peter Saunders, What the Bible says about euthanasia and assisted suicide, Christian Action Research & Education (CARE) ↩︎
  92. Ten reasons to oppose assisted suicide and euthanasia, The Catholic Church: Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales, 2024 ↩︎

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2 responses to “The assisted dying debate – should assisted suicide be legal in the UK?”

  1. Ilios Avatar
    Ilios

    I think it’s a slippery slope. MPs should not vote for this.

    Reply
  2. Craig Stokes Avatar
    Craig Stokes

    If a person’s continued existence will be nothing but pain and suffering, they should be allowed the option to end it. This isn’t to allow doctors to end people whenever they want, it’s to allow people to have themselves ended when they don’t have any other options that aren’t agony.

    Reply

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