Assisted dying or assisted suicide? One’s choice of definition exposes one’s perspective on this important and sensitive issue, which is again being debated by the UK Parliament, courtesy of a private members’ Bill introduced into the House of Lords on 26 July 2024 by the former Justice Secretary, Lord Falconer. Although UK law prevents people from asking for medical help to die, assisted dying has been legalised in at least 27 jurisdictions worldwide, predominantly in cases of terminal illness.

Arguments persist in relation to the importance of personal autonomy and the sanctity of human life, and are well documented in the British Medical Association guidance Key arguments used in the debate on physician-assisted dying.[1]

The first point in favour of such a Bill acknowledges that the ‘severe, unbearable physical or emotional distress’ associated with living with a terminal illness cannot always be relieved by palliative care. A contrary argument recognises that assisted dying legislation, ‘however well intended, would alter society’s attitude towards the elderly, seriously ill and disabled, and send the subliminal message that assisted dying is an option they “ought” to consider’.

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill (the Bill) [2] provides a legal pathway for ‘adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards, to be assisted to end their own life’.