A fascinating article in the Guardian 21 Nov. about a terminally ill UK person traveling to Switzerland to get a medically assisted death contains this bleak outlook for law reform in England:

Assisted death is legal in Switzerland, as well as in several other countries including Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium. (plus 10 USA states). Although the details differ, the success of each system is grounded in tight regulation and documentation.

In the UK, however, anyone who does anything that could be construed as “encouraging or assisting” another person to die, such as buying their plane ticket, pushing their wheelchair through an airport, or even talking about how it might happen, may be committing an offence that carries a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years.

The British Medical Association recently dropped its opposition to assisted dying but, despite widespread support from the public and half of doctors surveyed personally believing there should be a change in the law to permit them to prescribe life-ending drugs, little has changed.

A bill that would allow some people with a terminal illness to end their life at a time of their choosing is progressing through parliament, but is not expected to become law. “It’s unlikely to pass unless it gets taken up by MPs in the Commons and the government gives it time for debate,” says Trevor Moore, chair of the campaign group My Death, My Decision, which is calling for a public inquiry into the law. “There are some supportive MPs, but it takes up parliamentary time, and there are a lot of other things going on.”

Worth reading the whole article in the Guardian at –

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/20/a-trip-to-switzerland-in-search-of-a-good-death-all-this-instead-of-just-doing-it-in-brighton

Tags: aid in dying, assisted death, choice in dying, Death With Dignity, Derek Humphry, Dignitas, Final Exit, physician assisted death, right to die