Our debt to those who are dying: the UK medical establishment should reconsider its stance on assisted suicide

This book explores the phenomenon of ‘suicide tourism’. Freedom of movement creates problems with policies constrained by national boundaries and, as more countries contemplate regulating assisted suicide, there is now a pressing need for a theoretical investigation of the issues that provides a thorough appraisal of the global situation. Switzerland is no longer the only country where a person can find assistance for legal suicide. A similar law has been passed in Croatia, and Dutch and Belgian laws do not prohibit assisted suicide for non-residents. Few states in the US provide for physician-assisted suicide for state residents but US citizens from elsewhere can take simple steps to overcome this restriction. As more countries legally permit assisted suicide, suicide tourism will become a larger and more complex global practice. The book sets out the parameters for future debate, first contextualizing the practice and casting light on how it is treated under international and domestic law. It then analyses the ethical ramifications, and considers where the state’s responsibility should lie in dealing with accompanying persons and in regulating contractual agreements. It also contains a sociological and cultural analysis of suicide tourism, a review of policy and media reports on the topic, and interviews with various stakeholders (including policymakers, and medical and patients’ organizations) in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK. The book concludes with a summary of the legal, ethical, political, and sociological dimensions of suicide tourism, offering recommendations for how professionals and policymakers might respond to this evolving phenomenon.

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

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.1177/0030222820947254 ◽

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.

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Assisted dying challenges: Dynamic and stasis in the UK courts: Conway v. Secretary of State for Justice

Medical Law International ◽

10.1177/0968533218792395 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 256-270

Author(s):

Clark Hobson

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Assisted Suicide ◽

Private Life ◽

European Convention ◽

High Court ◽

Secretary Of State ◽

Human Rights Act ◽

Human Rights Act 1998 ◽

Legitimate Interests ◽

The Uk

This commentary reviews the High Court Decision in Conway v. Secretary of State for Justice. Mr Conway’s argument, that section 2(1) Suicide Act is incompatible with his right of respect for his private life under Article 8(1) European Convention on Human Rights, adopted as a Convention right for the purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998, was dismissed. The comment discusses four themes arising from the case. First, it examines how the High Court attempts to distinguish claimants who can act to end their own lives, such as Mr Conway, from individuals who cannot carry out any act to commit suicide. This distinction is arguably morally arbitrary and runs counter to principles of equal concern and respect. Second, Mr Conway puts forward an alternative statutory scheme with specific procedural criteria, designed to safeguard relevant competing legitimate interests; to protect the weak and vulnerable while legalizing assisted suicide in certain circumstances. However, the nature of Mr Conway’s argument regarding this alternative statutory scheme misses the point. It is possible for a court to find the current legislative measure, section 2(1) Suicide Act, to disproportionately interfere with a claimant’s Article 8(1) right in principle, without having to be satisfied there is a future legislative measure that does better balance competing legitimate interests. Third, the comment shall consider the High Court’s reasoning behind holding that Nicklinson was not binding insofar as deciding Mr Conway’s case. Finally, the ethical nuance of the court’s consideration of the aim of section 2 shall be considered briefly.

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Assisted suicide and human rights in the UK

The Psychiatrist ◽

10.1192/pb.bp.108.024059 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 34 (5) ◽

pp. 187-190 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Martin Curtice ◽

Charlotte Field

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Assisted Suicide ◽

Medical Science ◽

Court Case ◽

High Court ◽

Medical Disorders ◽

Human Rights Act ◽

Human Rights Act 1998 ◽

The Individual ◽

The Uk

SummaryAssisted suicide is an emotive issue that will undoubtedly continue to grab media headlines, especially as medical science is able to prolong survival in chronic medical disorders. The law in the UK as applied under the Suicide Act 1961 is currently very sympathetic to cases of assisted suicide, whereby the individual has travelled abroad to a country where it is lawful to end their life, in that people assisting them and thus committing an offence have not been prosecuted. This article analyses a recent High Court case pertaining to the Suicide Act 1961 demonstrating the central importance of the Human Rights Act 1998 in such cases. It then discusses implications for clinicians and the future of the Suicide Act itself.

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Conscientious objection and physician-assisted suicide: a viable option in the UK?

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-001541 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. bmjspcare-2018-001541

Author(s):

Derek Willis ◽

Rob George

Keyword(s):

Assisted Suicide ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Conscientious Objection ◽

Future Application ◽

Medical Professionals ◽

Physician Assisted Suicide ◽

Viable Option ◽

Medical Practitioners ◽

The Uk ◽

Legal Grounds

Conscience objection is a proposed way of ensuring that medical practitioners who object to physician-assisted suicide may avoid having to be involved in such a procedure if this is legalised. This right on the part of healthcare professionals already exists in certain circumstances. This paper examines the ethical and legal grounds for conscientious objection for medical professionals and shows how it is heavily criticised in circumstances where it is already used. The paper comes to the conclusion that as the grounds and application of conscience objection are no longer as widely accepted, its future application in any legislation can be called into question.

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The Supreme Court in a final push to go beyond Strasbourg

10.31235/osf.io/9mevc ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Nuno Ferreira

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Supreme Court ◽

Assisted Suicide ◽

European Convention ◽

The Supreme Court ◽

The Uk

Case comment on R. (on the application of Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice 2014 UKSC 38; 2015 A.C. 657 (SC). The case dealt mainly with the following two matters: the prohibition of assisted suicide in the UK, under the 1961 Suicide Act, and whether such prohibition is compatible with UK obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)3; and the legality of the policy issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) relating to the prosecution of individuals who have allegedly assisted a suicide.

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Nurse prescribers and legalising assisted suicide in the UK

Nurse Prescribing ◽

10.12968/npre.2016.14.5.248 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 248-251

Author(s):

Matthew Hartwell ◽

Mark Gagan

Keyword(s):

Assisted Suicide ◽

The Uk

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

Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice ◽

10.1017/s1460396919000402 ◽

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.

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Why assisted suicide must remain illegal in the UK

Nursing Standard ◽

10.7748/ns2012.01.26.18.40.c8874 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (18) ◽

pp. 40-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vicky Robinson ◽

Helen Scott

Keyword(s):

Assisted Suicide ◽

The Uk

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

Clinical Ethics ◽

10.1258/147775007781870128 ◽

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.

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