Society
Laws are more than regulatory instruments-they send social message too and help to inform the values and social conscience of each society.
The debate on assisted suicide tends to focus on individual choice and personal testaments but we believe that the wider, societal picture must be considered too.
The articles and report below consider the societal impact of legalising assisted suicide.
26 July 2024
Assisted dying: too many “complicating factors” to be safely implemented, says British public in new poll
A new poll, commissioned by Living and Dying Well, has found the British public believe there are too many ‘complicating…
26 March 2024
Isle of Man doctors reject assisted dying proposals in a survey
A survey carried out by the Isle of Man Medical Society has “overwhelmingly rejected” proposed assisted dying laws. Some 74%…
26 March 2020
‘Assisted dying will save the NHS money and provide organs, say academics’.
An ethicist and health economist have published a paper highlighting the cost effectiveness of ‘assisted dying’ A highly controversial paper…
21 June 2019
Lord Sumption on assisted suicide: What did he really say?
A critical analysis of claims that Lord Sumption implied that our law is ‘broken’. In the first of his Reith Lectures this…
24 January 2019
A travesty of a consultation.
The Royal College of Physicians needs to focus on its role of supporting clinical excellence and not allow itself to…
28 June 2018
A Welcome Judgment by the Court of Appeal.
The existing law achieves a fair balance between individual autonomy and protection of the community The Court of Appeal has…
14 February 2018
Who speaks for British doctors?
The BMJ’s one-sided coverage of a complex subject is as sad as it is predictable Senior palliative care doctors have…
23 January 2018
A book that brings us face to face with ourselves.
“Open discussion reduces superstition and fear, and allows us to be honest with each other at a time when pretence…
23 June 2016
BMA reaffirms its opposition to physician-assisted suicide.
The BMA has rejected a Motion that it should adopt a policy of neutrality on whether ‘assisted dying’ should be…
8 June 2016
A thoughtful report which deserves careful consideration.
The BMA’s End-of Life Care and Physician-Assisted Dying report contains much valuable material and warrants careful study. The BMA has…
26 May 2016
We need to get to the real problem with dying. Quick fixes are a distraction.
Dying has become too medicalised. Doctors are not there to solve our existential problems. Earlier this year we published a…
26 May 2016
The ‘good death’ – not something for doctors to prescribe.
Assisted suicide is a symptom of a deeper malaise and a distraction In a thoughtful and thought-provoking article in The Guardian Dr…
6 February 2016
Forget ‘Assisted Dying’, we need a debate about dying.
There has been too much focus on what is being called a ‘right to die’ and too little thought given…
18 January 2016
Challenging the conspiracy of silence.
Three generations have been unable to observe the onset and progress of dying at first hand Kathryn Mannix’s paper (“What…
18 January 2016
The changing face of dying.
“We should challenge the conspiracy of silence that leaves many of us to live misinformed and unnecessarily fearful”, says senior…
11 September 2015
A decisive rejection.
The House of Commons has rejected Rob Marris’s Assisted Dying Bill by a substantial majority Today the House of Commons…
11 September 2015
Assisted Dying No.2 Bill – Hansard Record.
House of Commons Rejects Rob Marris MP’s Assisted Dying No.2 Bill On 11 September the House of Commons debated and…
2 March 2015
A positive agenda for the end of life.
A recently published report introduces a welcome and positive note into choice at the end of life A report published…
17 November 2014
‘A Hidden Problem’: Research that raises more questions than it answers.
Deaths from physician-assisted suicide among terminally ill people in Oregon have been rising since the practice was legalised in 1997. …
14 November 2014
Assisted Dying Bill Committee Stage 7November 2014.
On 7 November the House of Lords began Committee Stage on Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill. In debate lasting from…
5 June 2014
The Assisted Dying Bill devalues the lives of terminally ill and disabled people.
A letter to The Telegraph argues that a change to the current legislation would put pressure on the most vulnerable…
8 April 2014
Doctors fail to spot symptoms of depression in 9 out of 10 elderly people.
The Times reports on “our next big public health problem”The Times has reported (£) on revelations by James Warner, Chair of…
23 September 2013
Legalised assisted suicide a “chilling prospect” for disabled people, says Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Legalising ‘assisted dying’ would reinforce prejudices against people with disabilities In a column in The Times (£) former paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson…
13 February 2013
Looking at it both ways.
Assisted suicide: engaging with the debate. ‘Assisted dying’ is a complex subject, transcending many fields of expertise including the law,…
13 November 2012
King’s College London – Assisted dying debate.
The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery hosts a debate on the subject of ‘assisted dying’ We provide here…
17 August 2012
Assisted dying: the harm in helping.
“Making assisted dying legal would alter the way society weighs the value of human life forever”. In a comment piece…
24 April 2011
A Question of Public Safety.
A fundamental reappraisal is needed of the concept of safeguards for ‘assisted dying’. In this paper published today, co-Chairs of…
30 June 2010
Autonomy and assisted suicide.
Baroness Onoroa O’Neill addresses the issue of autonomy and how it relates to calls for the legalisation of assisted suicide.…
19 June 2010
How the mass media report social statistics – a case study.
case study concerning research on end-of-life decisions In this 2010 case study, published in Social Science and Medicine, Professor Clive…
19 March 2010
Mum wanted to die, but convincing her to live gave us a gift beyond measure.
In an article in The Daily Mail Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (left, as a child) writes about her mother’s battle with…
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