Introduction

The issue of assisted dying has been a debatable battleground for a long time, contending ethical and deep-rooted religious beliefs against the strong arguments for individual autonomy and the right to die and end suffering. Such a debate on the legalization of assisted dying has re-emerged in the United Kingdom, as activists, lawmakers, and medical professionals engage in a divisive debate. Now, a combination of factors such as shifting societal perspectives, progressive medical capabilities, and increased political pressure indicates that the UK may finally be on the brink of legalizing assisted dying. 

Overview Of The Assisted Dying Bill

Assisted dying continues to be a highly controversial moral issue, with legal, political, religious, and ethical considerations playing an important role. The term assisted dying includes both physician-assisted dying and voluntary active euthanasia. Physician-assisted dying is when a doctor prescribes patients a lethal dose of medication to be used to end their life when they are ready. According to the National Library of Medicine of the US, physician-assisted incorporates a physician intentionally helping a person at their voluntary request to terminate their life by providing drugs for self-administration. Voluntary active euthanasia includes a physician (or third person) intentionally ending a person’s life usually through the administration of drugs, at that person’s voluntary request. 

The need for the right to die or assisted dying arises due to several factors including concerns about the poor quality of life, i.e. unbearable suffering, dependency on others, identity crisis, physical pain, and fear of suffering in the future. According to a qualitative study ‘Unbearable suffering’ from the perspectives of patients requesting assistance in dying, these patients suffer from feelings of helplessness, loss of dignity, and loss of self as their quality of life progressively diminishes, and these are important reasons to consider assisted dying. Patients expressed concern about the loss of their personality or essence. According to Pearlman et al. (2005), “motivations for physician-assisted suicide often stem from a desire to maintain dignity and autonomy in the face of terminal illness.’’  In some cases, extreme and unbearable pain can be an influencing factor for the patients to favor assisted dying. Assisted dying provides patients with the right to choose the manner of death and retain control of their own life or death, alleviating potential suffering and preserving dignity.  However, it needs to be practiced with proper safeguards as there are concerns regarding its potential misuse.  

Recently, Kim Leadbeater (Labour) presented the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to the British Parliament on October 16, 2024. The bill title states that it would “allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and provisions, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own lives.”

The broad aim of the bill is to allow adults aged 18 and above, who are terminally ill and are in the final six months of life and have the mental capacity to request assistance from a doctor to end their life.

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