Assisted dying: what are the laws in Britain and what changes are proposed?

A new bill to legalize assisted dying in Scotland has been published in Holyrood by Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, in a new bid by supporters to bring the measure into force for the first time in Britain.

What are the laws regarding assisted dying?

Aiding or encouraging another person to commit suicide is a criminal offense in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. In Scotland, assisting someone to commit suicide can lead to prosecution for crimes such as murder, manslaughter or other criminal offences.

What is being proposed across Britain?

McArthur’s bill, which will provide terminally ill adults with help to end their lives, is expected to be examined by MSPs at Holyrood’s health committee and could be voted on by MSPs in the first phase later this year .

Proposals to legalize assisted dying for people who are terminally ill or have an incurable condition causing unbearable suffering in Jersey – one of Britain’s three self-governing Crown Dependencies – will be debated in the State Assembly in May, with a vote on the question whether this will be continued. with drafting legislation.

A bill on assisted dying has also been passed by the Isle of Man parliament, with further debate scheduled for April.

What’s happening at Westminster?

In February, a report from MPs on the health and social care committee warned that the approach to this “difficult, sensitive and yet crucial” issue could soon diverge in Britain, and called on the Westminster government to “actively to be involved in the discussions”.

Keir Starmer has said he is “committed” to allowing a vote on decriminalizing assisted dying should Labor win the general election. Downing Street has previously said it is up to parliament to decide whether assisted dying will be debated again. The last vote took place in 2015, when the House of Commons decided not to change the law by 330 votes to 118.

Does the bill reflect a change in public mood?

McArthur said cross-party support for his bill suggests “politicians are catching up to where the public has been for some time,” citing polling for Dignity in Dying Scotland that showed 78% of respondents supported legalization.

There is a growing call for a change in the law, with interventions from celebrities such as Esther Rantzen, who has described the British government’s assisted dying law as a “mess”, as well as from the likes of Paola Marra, who spoke with the Guardian spoke. last week before ending her life at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland after suffering from terminal stage 4 colon cancer since 2021.

The British Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians have ended their opposition to assisted dying in recent years and have instead taken neutral positions, with more and more doctors now endorsing the measure.

Another poll conducted by Opinium Research this month on behalf of Dignity in Dying, which surveyed the views of more than 10,000 people in the UK, found that 75% of respondents would be in favor of making access legal for dying adults to assisted dying in Great Britain.

What are the concerns about assisted dying?

Some faith groups, disability rights activists and medical professionals continue to express grave concerns about the impact of a change in the law on vulnerable, sick and dying people who fear becoming a financial or emotional burden on their loved ones. They prefer to characterize the process as “assisted suicide” and some have criticized the Holyrood bill for “euphemistic language”.

Healthcare professionals at the organization Our Duty of Care, the British Islamic Medical Association, the Better Way Campaign, Disability Equality Scotland and many others expressed their opposition to McArthur’s bill after its publication.

Dr. Gillian Wright, a former palliative care registrar who is part of the Our Duty of Care campaign, spoke out against the proposals: “The main danger of assisted suicide is that individual lives are devalued by society because they are sick, disabled , confused, or that their contribution to society is perceived as minimal.

“We are encouraged that ordinary doctors and nurses from across Scotland have come together to send a clear message to MSPs. We understand that there is suffering at the end of life, but this should push us as a society not to provide assisted suicide, but instead to provide well-funded, accessible, high-quality palliative care for all.”