Apr 20th, 2022 by Derek Humphry
U.K. lacks aid in dying laws -more suicides
People with severe and potentially terminal health conditions are more than twice as likely to take their own lives than the general population, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published today ( 20 April 2022) has indicated.
The ONS examined suicide rates among people with a range of health conditions with poor prognoses and found that those with low survival cancers are at 2.4 times higher risk of suicide than those without, those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) also at 2.4 times higher risk and those with chronic ischemic heart conditions are at nearly 2 times higher risk.
The data comes after several suicides and suicide pacts involving terminally ill Brits have come to light, with Dignity in Dying (London) research estimating that up to 650 terminally ill people are taking their own lives every year in the UK in lieu of the safe, legal choice of assisted dying.
Tags: aid in dying, assisted suicide laws, Derek Humphry, Dignitas, Euthanasia, Final Exit, right to die, Self-Deliverance, terminal illness