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.
Almost 1,000 amendments tabled to assisted suicide Bill ahead of Lords Committee stage
Almost a thousand amendments have been tabled to the assisted suicide Bill, believed to be approaching a record number, as the Bill enters Committee stage in the House of Lords. The number of amendments tabled appears to reflect the unprecedented interest Peers have...
Wrap up: House of Lords assisted suicide Bill select committee – day 4
The House of Lords assisted suicide Bill select committee held two public sessions last week, the third and fourth sessions respectively, allowing a select group of Peers to interrogate and cross-examine the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill through expert...
Inventor of suicide machine holds London suicide workshop
A pro-assisted suicide campaigner, who has been accused of publishing material online that has reportedly been linked to the deaths of over 90 people in the United Kingdom, including the suicides of several teenagers, recently held a workshop in London teaching people...
Chris Whitty warns talking a loved one out of assisted suicide is “coercion”
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England, Chris Whitty, has suggested that attempting to talk a loved one out of having the state assist them in suicide is "coercion", prompting a backlash from commentators who have suggested this is a direct attack on national...
Wrap up: Scotland assisted suicide Bill Stage 2 committee – day 1
The Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee convened last week to debate the Scottish assisted suicide Bill as it began its scrutiny of amendments at Stage 2. The debate took place on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. In addition to the committee...
Hospices in financial crisis as assisted suicide fully funded
Hundreds of hospice beds have been cut across England, and the majority of hospices are now operating in deficit, according to a major report – raising serious criticism that while palliative care services are undergoing a financial crisis, Parliament has committed to...