Recent Developments in the Reform of English Law on Assisted Suicide

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Sanctity Of Life ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Rational Debate ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
English Law ◽  
The Uk

AbstractAssisted suicide remains a deeply contested issue in the UK. Recently three Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bills were introduced in a three year period, all of which failed. Despite the provision of clear and precise safeguards, at each reading the House of Lords fixed largely on the traditional slippery slope and sanctity of life positions; a disproportionate reliance on theological determinism in particular prevented informed rational debate. People are living longer often with chronic, incurable diseases and palliative care is frequently of poor quality or even unavailable in the UK and it is unacceptable that individuals 'suffering unbearably' in their final days have no available domestic alternative. Yet the courts have consistently declined to prosecute in cases where friends and relatives have accompanied terminally ill persons abroad to die, against the provisions of the 1961 Suicide Act s2(1). This article critically assesses recent developments in English law on assisted dying and considers the implications for a more inclusive and reasoned debate in the future.

Assisted dying in the terminally ill: an evaluation of views on euthanasia

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-352
Author(s):  
Sophie Duxbury
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Educational Backgrounds ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Qualitative Responses

AbstractIntroduction:The purpose of this study was to evaluate views and attitudes concerning the legality of assisted death and euthanasia in the UK and to identify the circumstances in which individuals would or would not consider assisted death.Materials and methods:The views of a sample of the general population in the UK were sought through the use of a mixed methods questionnaire open to the public for 3 weeks.Results:The responses of 117 participants were analysed using an SPSS MANOVA statistical test for quantitative data and an in-depth content coding analysis for qualitative responses.Discussion:The majority of respondents, 85·5%, believed that Physician-Assisted Death (PAD) should be legalised in the UK and that individuals should be able to choose when, 88%, and where, 88·9%, they die. Qualitative analysis revealed that more people would consider a PAD for a severe physical terminal illness over mental illness. There was no statistical significance for variables for quantitative data when considering overall demographics, professional and educational backgrounds of the respondents.Conclusion:The majority of respondents in this study indicated that they believe assisted suicide should be made legal and that the option should be available for those who are terminally ill. Views indicated that if assisted dying was legal, it would allow terminally ill patients to die with dignity and without prolonging pain.

Empirical research in the debate on physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-132
Author(s):  
Stephen W Smith
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Voluntary Euthanasia ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
End Of Life Decisions ◽  
The Uk

This article explores the use of empirical data when considering whether to legalize physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and voluntary euthanasia. In particular, it focuses on the evidence available to the Select Committee for the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill on whether or not covert euthanasia is taking place in the UK under the current prohibition of PAS and voluntary euthanasia. The article shows that there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to make any claims about the extent of covert euthanasia within the UK, although there is sufficient evidence to conclude that instances of covert euthanasia do happen. The article also calls for more research to be conducted in order to determine the rate of covert euthanasia in order to inform debate about the legalization of end-of-life decisions such as PAS and voluntary euthanasia.

Figure 5.7: the institutions of the Council of Europe 5.4.3 Relationship of the Convention with English law The UK has had many cases brought against it by individuals, and its track record in relation to human rights has been demonstrated to be worrying. Between 1975 and 1990, 30 cases were brought against the UK and in 21 of these cases the ECtHR found that the government had violated the ECHR. By 1997, the number of successful applications against the UK had risen to 50. In 1997, when the Labour government came into power one of its election promises was to incorporate these Convention rights into English law. 5.4.3.1 1951–98 As an international treaty the Convention had no force within the English legal system, and Convention rights were not enforceable in English courts. However, the UK government could be taken to the ECtHR by individuals and, as noted above, it was. But, having said that, although the Convention had no force in the English legal system, it was not ignored over the course of almost 50 years between 1951 and 1998. English courts were indeed influenced by the Convention in a range of ways. Judges in the House of Lords stated that they would presume that Parliament

2012 ◽  
pp. 136-136
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Track Record ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
English Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Relationship Of

Parliamentary Report

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-81
Author(s):  
Frank Cranmer
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Considerable Controversy ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
Travel Abroad ◽  
Do So

The issue of assisted suicide has been a matter of considerable controversy. On 9 December 2008 the incoming Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, announced that he would not prosecute Mark and Julie James for taking their son Daniel, paralysed as a result of a rugby accident, to an assisted-dying clinic in Switzerland. At the same time, Margo MacDonald MSP has been attempting to change the law in Scotland, where assisting the suicide of another is a common law offence. During the Lords committee stage of the Coroners and Justice Bill Lord Falconer moved a new clause to make it legal to help another to travel to a country in which assisted dying was lawful, in circumstances where that person had made a formal declaration of intent to travel abroad in order to die and two doctors, independent of each other, had certified that that person was terminally ill and had the necessary mental capacity to make the declaration. For the Government, Lord Bach said that Ministers felt that the Bill was not the appropriate vehicle for changing the law on assisted suicide and suggested that if Falconer wished to pursue the matter further he should do so through a Private Member's Bill – and the new clause was duly defeated by 194 votes to 141.

scholarly journals UK Public’s Views and Perceptions About the Legalisation of Assisted Dying and Assisted Suicide

2020 ◽  
pp. 003022282094725
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Pentaris ◽  
Lucy Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Convenience Sampling ◽  
Views And Perceptions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Religious Aspects ◽  
Public Views

Current debates about assisted dying and assisted suicide cover a series of medical, legal, moral, ethical and religious aspects. Yet, public views on the subject remain underexplored and, therefore, not always accounted for in the formation of public policy. This paper reports on empirical data from a cross-sectional study in the UK in 2019, which examines public views about the legalisation of assisted dying and assisted suicide, by means of a self-administered Qualtrics-based survey (self-devised vignettes). A combination of simple random and convenience sampling was used. Participants (n = 297) state their preference that both assisted dying and assisted suicide should be legalised in the UK (n = 70%), while doctors should be legally allowed to support such wishes of patients with an incurable and painful illness from which they will die (n = 62.22%). The paper concludes that public opinion needs to be further accounted for in policymaking and discourses regarding patient autonomy and dignity of care.

scholarly journals Lord Sumption and the values of life, liberty and security: before and since the COVID-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2021-107332
Author(s):  
John Coggon
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Sanctity Of Life ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Politics And Law

Lord Sumption, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, has been a prominent critic of coronavirus restrictions regulations in the UK. Since the start of the pandemic, he has consistently questioned both the policy aims and the regulatory methods of the Westminster government. He has also challenged rationales that hold that all lives are of equal value. In this paper, I explore and question Lord Sumption’s views on morality, politics and law, querying the coherence of his broad philosophy and his arguments regarding coronavirus regulations with his judicial decision in the assisted-dying case of R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice. In Nicklinson, Lord Sumption argued for restrictions on liberty given the priority of the sanctity of life principle and the protection of others who may be vulnerable, as well as for deference to policy-making institutions in instances of values-based disagreement. The apparent inconsistencies in his positions, I argue, are not clearly reconcilable, and invite critical analysis of his impacts on health law and policy.

scholarly journals Assisted dying – the debate: Videtur… sed contra

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-257
Author(s):  
Philip Graham ◽  
Julian C. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
List Type ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Type Number ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Uk

SummaryShould the law be changed to allow health professionals to assist mentally competent, terminally ill people to end their own lives? In this article Philip Graham (P.G.) puts the arguments in favour of such a change in the law and Julian Hughes (J.H.) opposes these arguments. J.H. then sets out why he believes such a law should not be passed and P.G., in turn, sets out counterarguments. Before concluding comments, both P.G. and J.H. independently make brief closing statements supporting their own positions.LEARNING OBJECTIVESUnderstand the differences between various types of ‘assisted dying’.Appreciate some of the ethical arguments in favour of and against changes in the law on assisted dying in the UK.Understand some of the empirical data involved in arguments about assisted dying.

Could Physician-Assisted Suicide be Classified as a Service Under Article 49 of the European Community Treaty?

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Ben P. Slight
Keyword(s):  
Member State ◽  
European Community ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Ec Law

This paper considers whether it is possible to classify physician assisted suicide (PAS) as a ‘service’ for the purposes of Article 49 of the European Community Treaty. It suggests that if PAS were to be formally recognised as a ‘service’ for the purposes of European Community (EC) Law, it is unlikely that the UK Government would be able to deny terminally ill Britons from exercising their rights as EU Citizens to obtain PAS in the more permissive jurisdictions of Member States. This paper will demonstrate that the provision of PAS in a Member State by a Dignitas-type organisation could easily fulfil the requirements of Article 49 and be recognised as a service under Community Law. Owing to the considerable rights that the classification of PAS as a ‘service’ under EC Law would afford terminally ill individuals, the paper will examine the case law of the European Court of Justice relating to the free movement of services. This jurisprudential analysis will contend that it is unlikely that a Member State could invoke any of the agreed exceptions to Article 49 as a method of restricting the availability of PAS as a service within its jurisdiction.

Ethics in cancer care

2019 ◽  
pp. 159-172
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Drug Treatments ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right

The biomedical ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice are well established, though they have been challenged by feminist and nursing ethics. Decision-making in practice requires a balance of not only ethical principles, but also legal and professional frameworks, alongside patient and family wishes. Cancer clinical trials raise ethical issues around the balance between risk and potential benefits to patients, and they may need support making the right decision about whether to participate. The rising cost of cancer drug treatments has raised difficult questions about which drugs should be authorized for use within the United Kingdom (UK)'s National Health Service. End-of-life care raises particularly challenging ethical issues. Mental capacity or competence is defined in law in the UK, and treatment decisions may be made on behalf of patients if they are assessed and found to lack capacity. However, patients and families are encouraged to make advance statements and decisions about treatment in the event of losing capacity. Decisions on whether to give, withdraw, or withhold treatment, artificial hydration and nutrition, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are sensitive, and should be based on assessment, consultation with family, and consideration of ethical, legal, and professional principles. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (assisted dying) are highly contentious issues internationally and illegal in most countries. Some countries allow them under certain circumstances. In response to a patient asking about assisted dying, the nurse should listen to their concerns, be prepared to talk about the process of dying, and support them to establish their priorities.

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