Over the past 50 years, both the lay and medical communities in many Western nations have gradually accepted the idea of assisted dying. There is no guarantee that Britain’s MPs will follow suit when the assisted-dying bill comes before parliament at the end of November. But the momentum certainly appears to be on the side of assisted-dying advocates.
If the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – to give it its full title – does pass, practical measures must be adopted to protect patients as much as possible. Kim Leadbeater, the MP who proposed the bill, has insisted that adequate safeguards can be put in place, although many of the details in the bill are yet to be made public.