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Assisted Dying Laws
Context
The UK Parliament's House of Commons narrowly passed the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill” for England and Wales. It seeks to legalise assisted dying under strict conditions. Scotland is considering a separate bill with similar aims. If passed by the House of Lords, it could bring a major legal and ethical shift in how terminally ill patients are treated in the UK.
What is Assisted Dying?
- Assisted Dying: A terminally ill person voluntarily ends their life using a prescribed lethal drug, usually self-administered.
- Assisted Suicide: Helping someone (not necessarily terminally ill) to end their life.
- Euthanasia: A physician deliberately ends a person’s life to relieve suffering (can be voluntary or non-voluntary).
Provisions of the New Bill (England & Wales)
- The bill permits assisted dying if:
- The person is over 18, a resident of England/Wales, and has been with a registered GP for at least 12 months.
- Diagnosed with a terminal illness with less than six months to live.
- Declares their wish twice (with proper witness), free from coercion.
- Approved by two independent doctors, and a three-member panel (judge, psychiatrist, social worker).
- A 14-day waiting period is required before proceeding.
- The person must self-administer the prescribed medication.
- Coercion is punishable with up to 14 years in prison.
- Additional safeguards added later:
- Review of palliative care services within a year.
- No conversations with minors (under 18) about assisted dying.
- Ban on advertising assisted dying services.
- Opt-out option for health professionals.
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Ethical & Social Opposition |
Support for the Bill |
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Status in Other Countries:
Many countries have taken different approaches to assisted dying or euthanasia:
- Switzerland: The first country to legalize assisted dying in 1942.
- USA: States like Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act in 1997, allowing mentally sound adults with terminal illness to end their lives with self-administered drugs.
- Canada: Since 2016, Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) law allows both terminal and non-terminal patients (if the condition is grievous or irremediable) to seek help in ending their lives.
- Netherlands and Belgium: Both countries have comprehensive euthanasia laws, with Belgium extending euthanasia to minors with parental consent.
- Spain and Germany: These countries have passed laws, but their implementation is at various stages.
- France and Ireland: These countries are still deliberating on assisted dying legislation.
- India (Karnataka): Karnataka has taken a landmark step in facilitating the right to die with dignityto implement the Supreme Court’s 2023 directive, becoming the first state to do so.
- This move is in line with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling, which affirmed that the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution also includes the right to die with dignity (Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Therapy (WLST)).
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