Assisted suicide usually involves a health practitioner prescribing a lethal dose for a person to administer themselves, usually by swallowing a combination of drugs.
In the United Kingdom, the Suicide Act 1961 legalised the attempt to take one’s own life, but it kept illegal the assistance of another’s death.
Assisted suicide is legal in a handful of jurisdictions globally including Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and a small number of states in the US.
Right To Life UK campaigns against any attempt to legalise assisted suicide, and for the development of palliative care services and end of life care that remove any perceived need for assisted suicide.
Leaked doc reveals Labour planned an assisted suicide Bill via a Private Members’ Bill before election
Campaigners have called for the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill to be withdrawn after an explosive leaked report suggests Labour planned to introduce assisted suicide by a Private Members’ Bill, similar to Kim Leadbeater’s, before the election. Published in the...
Government creates seven additional sitting Fridays for assisted suicide Bill, raising further questions over neutrality
Campaigners have questioned whether the Government is neutral on the assisted suicide Bill, after it announced its decision to create seven additional sitting Fridays for the Bill in the new year in the House of Lords, in addition to the three sitting Fridays that had...
Canada: record 16,499 deaths by euthanasia in 2024
A record 16,499 people died by euthanasia in Canada in 2024, accounting for 5.1% of all deaths in the country. According to the latest report on "medical assistance in dying" (MAiD) from Health Canada released at the end of last month, there was a 6.9% increase in...
Wrap up: House of Lords assisted suicide Bill select committee – day 5
The House of Lords assisted suicide Bill select committee held its fifth and final public meeting earlier this month, allowing a select group of Peers to interrogate and cross-examine the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill through expert witnesses. The fifth day...
Poll reveals more medical professionals oppose assisted suicide Bills in England and Wales, and Scotland than support
New polling has revealed that a majority of medical professionals in the UK who take a firm opinion on assisted suicide are opposed to its implementation. The polling surveyed members of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow on the...
Slovenia changes mind and rejects assisted suicide in binding referendum
In an apparent change of mind, Slovenians have opposed an assisted suicide law after a binding referendum rejected legislation that was passed by their National Assembly earlier this year, as well as a non-binding referendum in support of assisted suicide the previous...