A proposal to give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to end their lives will be debated in Parliament at the end of October.

A separate bill is already under discussion in Scotland.

Jersey and the Isle of Man are also considering changing the law.

Many countries have legalized assisted dying, assisted suicide or euthanasia, all of which vary.

There is some debate over what the different terms actually mean., external,

But assisted dying is more commonly used to describe a situation where someone who is terminally ill seeks medical help in order to receive lethal medications that they take themselves.

Assisted suicide means intentionally helping another person end their life, externalThis may include people who are not terminally ill, external,

Providing someone with a lethal dose of sedative drugs or helping them escape to Switzerland – where assisted suicide is legal – can both be considered assisted suicide.

Laws throughout Britain prevent people from seeking medical help to die.

More specifically, euthanasia is illegal English law and it is considered manslaughter or murder. The maximum punishment is life imprisonment.

The Suicide Act 1961 also makes it illegal to encourage or assist suicide. England and Wales. Those found guilty could face up to 14 years in prison.

Similar laws exist in northern ireland,

There is no specific crime of assisting suicide scotland But it is possible that helping a person die could result in a charge of culpable homicide.

In March 2024, a report by the Health and Social Care Committee highlighted confusion over the rules governing UK doctors whose patients wish to travel abroad to die., external,

The British Medical Association (BMA) advises doctors to prepare medical reports for assisted suicide facilities abroad.

UK membership of Swiss assisted dying association Dignitas is set to rise to 1,900 in 2023, a 24% increase on last year, according to the organisation.

It said 40 people from the UK gave up their lives in Dignitas in 2023, the highest number since 2019. The organization helped 571 Britons die between 1998 and 2023., external,

Labor MP Kim Leadbeater is introducing a bill that would give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to end their lives.

Details have not been finalized, but the bill is expected to be similar to a bill introduced in the House of Lords in July 2024, which would allow terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to die. Medical assistance can be provided for. lives.

Ms Leadbeater’s bill is expected to be formally introduced to the House of Commons on October 16, followed by debate and an initial vote in 2024.

Before becoming a law, it will have to be approved by MPs and colleagues.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously promised Labor MPs a free vote on the issue and has personally backed calls for changes to the law.

Lawmakers last rejected a bill on the issue in 2015.

But in October 2024, Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray said the proposed legislation went beyond the limits of Holyrood’s powers, as issues relating to lethal drugs used to end patients’ lives were reserved for the Westminster government.

Mr MacArthur said he was “very confident” the UK and Scottish governments could work together to ensure the bill becomes law if it has the support of MSPs.

Two previous attempts to pass bills on assisted dying in 2010 and 2013, both led by the late MSP Margo McDonald, who had Parkinson’s disease, were rejected.

Both B.M.A., external and Royal College of Nursing, external There is a neutral position on assisted death.

But campaigners representing people suffering from incurable and life-limiting illnesses have made several attempts to change the law in recent years.

Ms Leadbetter told BBC News “now is the time” for a renewed debate on assisted dying.

“The current situation is not particularly safe and really is not the option that I think people deserve and should have,” he said.

One of the highest-profile supporters of the change is broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who joined Dignitas after being diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer.

He started a petition in support of assisted dying in December 2023.

It received over 200,000 signatures and began to be debated in Parliament on 29 April. Despite the lack of a binding vote, Dame Esther urged MPs to attend.

“All I’m asking is that we be given the dignity of choice,” Dame Esther told BBC News after details of Ms Leadbetter’s bill were revealed.

“If I decide that my life is not worth living, please can I ask for help to die – that’s a choice.”

Paralympian and House of Lords crossbencher Baroness Grey-Thompson is against changing the law.

She told BBC News that she was concerned about “the impact on vulnerable people, disabled people, coercive control and the ability of doctors to make a diagnosis in six months”.

Dr. Lucy Thomas, a palliative-care and public-health physician, said that while assisted death is a last resort, courts are in a better position to judge than doctors — and that deciding to end one’s life is a “straight consumer decision.” Not there.

Actor and disability-rights activist Liz Carr, who starred in the BBC One documentary Better Off Dead? Bani, also oppose changing the law.

He wrote on

Dr Gordon MacDonald, chief executive of campaign group Care Not Killing, said Ms Leadbetter’s bill was “frankly disappointing”.

“I would strongly urge the Government to focus on fixing our broken palliative-care system, rather than re-discussing this dangerous and ideological policy, which cuts out one in four Britons who would benefit from this type of care. Makes one incapable of using it.” He said.

But Ms Leadbetter says her bill “will not weaken the demand for reform in palliative care”.

Jersey and the Isle of Man are part of the British Isles but set their own laws. Both islands are considering proposals to allow assisted dying.

Politicians in the Isle of Man Parliament debating the Assisted Dying Bill, which was introduced by Dr Alex Allinson, who serves as an independent member of the House of Keys, roughly equivalent to the House of Commons in Westminster .

If the law is passed, it would only apply to people who have lived on the Isle of Man for five years to discourage so-called “death tourism”.

Jersey politicians supported the principle of legalizing assisted dying in 2021.

In May 2024, he approved a plan to allow assisted death for people suffering from a terminal illness “causing unbearable suffering”.

It is expected to take approximately 18 months to draft the relevant legislation.

If it is approved, a further 18-month implementation period will begin, meaning any changes will not come into effect before summer 2027.

The Dignity in Dying campaign group says that more than 200 million people worldwide have legal access to some form of assisted death., external,

Switzerland Assisted suicide has been permitted since 1942. Its Dignitas facility began operating in 1998. However, all forms of euthanasia are against the law.

Assisted suicide is also legal in neighboring countries austria,

In We,11 states allow assisted dying. Known as “physician-assisted death”, it allows doctors to prescribe lethal drugs for self-administration.

Physician-assisted death is legal in Oregon, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Hawaii, New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, and Washington, DC.

In Montana, court rulings allow doctors to defend themselves if they assist a person in suicide.

voluntary euthanasia is legal Canada Where it is called medical aid in dying. It can be provided in person by a doctor or nurse practitioner or through prescription medications for self-administration.

it’s also legal spain And ColombiaBoth of these also allow assisted suicide.

Assisted dying is legal in some parts of Australia, but the law varies from state to state. It is not allowed in the Northern or Australian Capital Territories, which have different legal systems.

new zealand The End-of-Life Choice Act legalizes assisted dying and allows adults to request assistance from a medical professional in the last months of their life.

Three countries have laws that allow people who are not terminally ill to receive aid to die: Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg,