Why change the law on assisted dying?
People want choice and control at the end-of-life. Opinion poll, after opinion poll has shown the overwhelming majority of people believe that terminally ill adults should be able to end their suffering, within strict legal safeguards, if they feel it has become unbearable. This is a choice that the majority of us will thankfully never have to exercise. However, it is a choice that most of us do not want to deny to others. Ultimately, all terminally ill people should have access to good quality patient centred end-of-life care and treatment. But despite this, and as acknowledged by the British Medical Association, even the best palliative care cannot ensure that all dying patients have what they consider to be a dignified death. There is a lot of evidence showing that fear of the process of dying is alleviated when people have the right to ask for a medically assisted death if their suffering becomes more than they can bear. Currently, the law is failing such people, many of whom seek
