Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to have 25,000 actively subscribing supporters. The organisation declares it is independent of any political, religious or other affiliations, and has the stated primary aim of campaigning for individuals to have greater choice and more control over end-of-life decisions, so as to alleviate any suffering they may be undergoing as they near the end of their life. Dignity in Dying campaigns for the greater choice, control and access to a full range of medical and

palliative Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

services at the end-of-life, including providing

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced he ...

adults with the option of a painless, assisted death, within strict legal safeguards. It declares that its campaign looks to bring about a generally more compassionate approach to the end-of-life. Dignity in Dying points out that in the 2010 British Social Attitudes survey 82% of the general public believed that a doctor should probably or definitely be allowed to end the life of a patient with a painful incurable disease at the patient's request. This was further analysed to show 71% of religious people and 92% of non-religious people supported this statement. Alongside its campaigning work, Dignity in Dying, through its partner charity Compassion in Dying, is also an information source on end-of-life issues and a provider of advance decisions.

History

Origins

In 1931 Dr Charles

Killick Millard Charles Killick Millard (1870–1952) was a British doctor who in 1935 founded the Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society (now Dignity in Dying), a movement that campaigned for the legalisation of euthanasia in Great Britain. In addition to s ...

, the Medical Officer of Health for Leicester from 1901 to 1935, gave the Presidential address at the Annual General Meeting of the

Society of Medical Officers of Health Royal Institute of Public Health merged in 2008 with the Royal Society for Health to form Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). History The institute was the amalgamation of a few societies. The Metropolitan Association of Medical Officers of ...

. In the address, he advocated the "Legalisation of Voluntary Euthanasia", which prompted considerable debate in Britain involving doctors, clerics and the wider public. Millard's proposal was that in the case of terminal illnesses the law should be changed "to substitute for the slow and painful death a quick and painless one". The organisation was set up in December 1935 under the name of The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society (VELS). The initial meeting that set the society up was held at the headquarters of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

free of charge, despite the BMA not supporting the aims of the society. During the debate, the meeting was disrupted by 40 members of a Catholic youth association. The foundation of the society followed an offer of £10,000 from Mr. O. W. Greene, a terminally-ill man in London. The initial offer was retracted and no posthumous endowment was left to the Society after Greene learned that the prospective Society would only be supporting legalisation of euthanasia for those with incurable conditions. The first chairman was C. J. Bond, a consulting surgeon at the

Leicester Royal Infirmary The Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) is a National Health Service hospital in Leicester, England. It is located to the south-west of the city centre. It has an accident and emergency department and is managed by of the University Hospitals of ...

; Millard was made the first Honorary Secretary. Other members of the Executive Committee were drawn from Bond and Millard's social milieu in Leicester, including Astley V. Clarke from the Leicester Royal Infirmary; Rev Dr R. F. Rattray, a Unitarian minister and principal of University College, Leicester; Canon F. R. C. Payne of

Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 1922 ...

; Rev A. S. Hurn;

Frederick Attenborough Frederick Levi Attenborough (4 April 1887 – 20 March 1973) was a British academic and principal of University College, Leicester. Biography He was the son of Mary (née Saxton) and Frederick August Attenborough of Stapleford, Nottinghamshir ...

, also a former principal of University College, Leicester; and H. T. Cooper, the Honorary Solicitor of the Committee. The society did not attempt to build a popular movement at first but attempted to build, according to Kemp, "a network of distinguished sympathisers able to influence policy at high levels". The society had a Consultative Medical Council and a Literary Group, and were endorsed by a variety of authors, progressive reformers, feminists and supporters of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fa ...

. Early supporters included Henry Havelock Ellis,

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir ''Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the First ...

Cicely Hamilton Cicely Mary Hamilton (née Hammill; 15 June 1872 – 6 December 1952), was an English actress, writer, journalist, suffragist and feminist, part of the struggle for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She is now best known for the feminist ...

Laurence Housman Laurence Housman (; 18 July 1865 – 20 February 1959) was an English playwright, writer and illustrator whose career stretched from the 1890s to the 1950s. He studied art in London. He was a younger brother of the poet A. E. Housman and his s ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

Eleanor Rathbone Eleanor Florence Rathbone (12 May 1872 – 2 January 1946) was an independent British Member of Parliament (MP) and long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool. E ...

MP,

G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was a British historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to the ...

W. Arbuthnot Lane Sir William Arbuthnot Lane, 1st Baronet, Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, CB, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (4 July 1856 – 16 January 1943) was a British surgeon and physician. He mastered orthopaed ...

, and a variety of peers including

Lord Woolton Frederick James Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton, (23 August 1883 – 14 December 1964) was an English businessman and politician who served as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1946 to 1955. In April 1940, he was appointed Minister of Food ...

of Liverpool (Conservative) and

Lord Moynihan Baron Moynihan, of Leeds in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 March 1929 for the surgeon Sir Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baronet, the son of the Victoria Cross recipient Andrew Moynihan. Sir ...

who had been the President of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

. The first attempt to pass legislation to make euthanasia legal in Britain was the

Voluntary Euthanasia (Legalisation) Bill 1936 Voluntary may refer to: * Voluntary (music) * Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism * Voluntary muscle contraction See also * Voluntary action * Voluntariness, in law and philosophy * Voluntaryism Volunt ...

introduced to the House of Lords by

Arthur Ponsonby Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (16 February 1871 – 23 March 1946), was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria and ...

.Earl of Listowel, Foreword to A. B. Downing, Barbara Smoker, ''Voluntary Euthanasia: Experts Debate the Right to Die'', , p. 5–7. The debate was not split along party political grounds and the Government considered it "outside the proper range of Government intervention and to be one which should be left to the conscience of the individual members of the House". The

Hunterian Society The Hunterian Society, founded in 1819 in honour of the Scottish surgeon John Hunter (1728–1793), is a society of physicians and dentists based in London. Established by Dr William Cooke, a general practitioner, and Thomas Armiger, a surgeo ...

held a debate on 16 November 1936 to debate whether "the practice of voluntary euthanasia would be unjustifiable", and the Bill was opposed by the

1950s to 1980s

On 28 November 1950, the next attempt was made by Lord Chorley of Kendal, a Vice-President of the society, who brought a pro-voluntary euthanasia motion before the House of Lords. The motion was so widely condemned it was withdrawn without a division. According to N. D. A. Kemp, the attempt was an "ignominious failure", as were similar attempts to produce more liberal legislation generally on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

and

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. Following the death of the Honorary Secretary

and the resignation of Lord Denman, the President of the Society, and the deaths of two prominent supporters of the society, E.W. Barnes and Dr N.I. Spriggs, a new Honorary Secretary was found in R. S. W. Pollard who moved the society to be based in London from Leicester. The society also changed tactics: moving away from courting the medical and legal elites to trying to build up a mass movement to exert "grass-roots pressure" and efforts were made to bring up the topic in civic society groups like Rotary Clubs, local newspaper editorials etc. From 1955 onwards, the 'Legalization' was dropped from the name along with the 'Voluntary' to make it the Euthanasia Society (although some sources place it at 1960). The Euthanasia Society placed adverts on the London Underground and on mainline railway services in the south of England, with the wording "The Euthanasia Society Believes that incurable sufferers should have the right to choose a Merciful Death". In 1960, the chairman, C. K. MacDonald died and was replaced by

Leonard Colebrook Leonard Colebrook FRS ( – ) was an English physician and bacteriologist. Education Colebrook was educated at the Grammar School in Guildford (1891–96), Westbourne High School in Bournemouth (1896–99) and Christ's College Blackheath in Ke ...

. He was replaced temporarily by Maurice Millard. In 1962, he was replaced by the Unitarian minister Rev A. B. Downing, and in 1964, C. R. Sweetingham was made secretary. Prominent people who supported the society during the 1960s included the legal academic and president of the

Law Reform Association Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Glanville Williams Glanville Llewelyn Williams (15 February 1911 – 10 April 1997) was a Welsh legal scholar who was the Rouse Ball Professor of English Law at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1978 and the Quain Professor of Jurisprudence at University ...

. Williams gave a paper entitled 'Voluntary euthanasia – the next step' at the Annual General Meeting of the society in 1955. Williams' ethical justification of euthanasia argued against the

principle of double effect The principle of double effect – also known as the rule of double effect; the doctrine of double effect, often abbreviated as DDE or PDE, double-effect reasoning; or simply double effect – is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosop ...

and for a utilitarian approach to the questions in medical ethics including both voluntary euthanasia and abortion. His proposal would have allowed a physician to put as a defence to a homicide, assault or bodily harm charge that the person was incurably and fatally ill if the doctor was acting in good faith. These proposals mirror those of

James Rachels James Webster Rachels (May 30, 1941 – September 5, 2003) was an American philosopher who specialized in ethics and animal rights. Biography Rachels was born in Columbus, Georgia, and graduated from Mercer University in 1962. He received his Ph ...

discussed below. According to Kemp, the public association of euthanasia with eugenics and Nazi atrocities marred attempts in the 1950s to promote voluntary euthanasia, but such setbacks were short-lived. The next legislative attempt was started in 1967 with a bill drafted by Mary Rose Barrington, a member of the executive committee of the Euthanasia Society and barrister. Attempts were made to find an MP willing to introduce it to the Commons but eventually it was introduced to the Lords in 1969 by

Lord Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops ...

, a member of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

. The word 'Voluntary' was reinstated to the name in 1969 to become the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.A. B. Downing, Barbara Smoker, ''Voluntary Euthanasia: Experts Debate the Right to Die'', , p. 255–259. It was also known as Exit (not to be confused with

Exit International Exit International is an international non-profit organisation advocating legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. It was previously known as the ''Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation'' (VERF Inc.). Exit International ...

) from 1979 but this was reverted in 1982. During the period it was known as 'Exit', the secretary of the society, Nicholas Reed, was convicted of conspiracy to variously aid and abet or counsel a number of suicides. He was jailed for two and a half years, although this was reduced to 18 months on appeal. Reed had supported Mark Lyons, a seventy-year-old man who provided pills and alcohol to several sick people. Lyons was given a two-year suspended sentence. The society had voted in 1979 to publish a "Guide to Self-Deliverance", a booklet which described suicide methods. This was challenged by the Attorney General in 1982 under s2 of the

Suicide Act 1961 The Suicide Act 1961 (9 & 10 Eliz 2 c 60) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It decriminalised the act of suicide in England and Wales so that those who failed in the attempt to kill themselves would no longer be prosecuted. Th ...

, and after a brief attempt to fight back against this, the distribution of the booklet was suspended in 1983. After the name was changed back following the conviction of Reed and Lyons, Lord Jenkins of Putney introduced an amendment to the Suicide Act to introduce a defence for those who acted "on behalf of the person who committed suicide and in so acting behaved reasonably and with compassion and in good faith" but this was defeated 48 votes to 15. In 1988, the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, as it was then, attempted to place a full-page newspaper advertisement in the

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

showing twenty-four young men with advanced

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

with the words "A day in the life of an emphysema sufferer" and accompanied by "We believe that he should have the right to choose a peaceful and

dignified death Dignified death, death with dignity, dying with dignity or dignity in dying is an ethical concept that refers to the end-of-life process avoiding suffering and maintaining control and autonomy. In general, it is usually treated as an extension of t ...

." The

contacted the Advertising Standards Authority to block publication of the ad, and a representative of the

British Lung Foundation The British Lung Foundation (BLF) is a British charity that promotes lung health and supports those affected by lung disease. History The British Lung Foundation was established by Professor Sir Malcolm Green and a group of United Kingdom lun ...

condemned the advert, saying that "fears of patients with lung disease should not be exploited in this way."

1990s

In 1990, the group campaigned for the early release of Anthony Cocker, who was convicted of murder after killing his wife Esther after she begged him to end her suffering from

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. In 1992, the society supported Dr Nigel Cox, who was prosecuted and convicted for murder for shortening the life of a patient at the

Royal Hampshire County Hospital The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester is a District General Hospital serving much of central Hampshire. It is owned and run by the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It is commonly abbreviated to RHCH, or alternatively, Winc ...

Post 2000

Dignity in Dying was the new name endorsed by members at the annual general meeting in 2005. Its current Chair of the Governing Board is Sir Graeme Catto and its Chief Executive is Sarah Wootton. The name change was done to "get away from the suggestion that you can only achieve dignity in dying with euthanasia". Dignity in Dying has a range of patrons, including people who have been associated with high-profile cases connected with Dignity in Dying's campaigns, such as Lesley Close (sister of John Close), Brian Pretty (husband of

Diane Pretty Diane Pretty (15 November 1958 – 11 May 2002) was a British woman from Luton who was the focus of a debate about the laws of euthanasia in the United Kingdom during the early part of the 21st century. She had attempted to change British law so sh ...

) and Heather Pratten. Other patrons include prominent individuals from the worlds of business, politics, the arts and religion, such as

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 19 ...

Patricia Hewitt Patricia Hope Hewitt (born 2 December 1948) is an Australian-born British government adviser and former politician who served as Secretary of State for Health from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served as Secretar ...

Zoë Wanamaker Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is a British-American actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. A nine-time Olivier Award nominee, she won for '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1979) and '' Electra ...

Simon Weston Simon Weston (born 8 August 1961) is a Welsh veteran of the British Army who is known for his charity work and recovery from severe burn injuries suffered during the Falklands War. Early life Weston was born at Caerphilly District Miners ...

Anthony Grayling Anthony Clifford Grayling (; born 3 April 1949) is a British philosopher and author. He was born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and spent most of his childhood there and in Nyasaland (now Malawi). In 2011 he founded and became the first Mast ...

and Matthew Wright. In 2005, legislative attempts were made by

Lord Joffe Joel Goodman Joffe, Baron Joffe, (12 May 1932 – 18 June 2017) was a South African-born British lawyer and Labour peer in the House of Lords. Life and career Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to the Joffe family. His mother was born in Man ...

who joined the society in the 1970s. The first bill was introduced in the 2003 session, and the Bill has been reintroduced repeatedly since. The Joffe Bill led to the formation of the anti-euthanasia group

Care Not Killing Care Not Killing is an alliance of several organisations who are opposed to the legalisation of euthanasia or physician- assisted suicide in the United Kingdom. Their goals include promoting more and better palliative care, ensuring that existi ...

. Dignity in Dying has a non-campaigning partner charity, Compassion in Dying, which carries out research to do with end-of-life matters, provides the general public with access to advance decisions and also works to provide information about a person's rights at the end-of-life. They are also associated with Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying, a group formed by Dignity in Dying supporter and general practitioner Ann McPherson. In May 2011, Dignity in Dying noted the result of a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in Zurich, Switzerland, which showed overwhelming support for assisted dying and voted to reject the restriction of assisted dying services in Zurich to the residents of the city. The organisation called the result a "brave decision" on the part of the Swiss people.

Assisted Dying Bill

In 2014

Lord Falconer Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, (born 19 November 1951) is a British Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007. Born in ...

of Thoroton tabled an Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords which passed through Second Reading and ran out of time during Committee stage before the General Election. During its passage peers voted down two amendments which were proposed by opponents of the Bill. In 2015 Labour MP

Rob Marris Robert Howard Marris (born 8 April 1955) is a British Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South West. He first held the seat from 2001 until his defeat in 2010. He regained at the seat at th ...

introduced an Assisted Dying Bill, based on the Falconer proposals, into the House of Commons. The Bill was praised by Philip Collins, chief leader writer for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' as "a sophisticated and humane attempt" to clarify the law before the courts do so and which unlike religion "will actually ease suffering."

Archbishop Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ju ...

's subsequent objections were described as "histrionic" and lacking any religious reason. The bill was rejected by 330 to 118. In June 2016, the Bill was re-introduced to the House of Lords by former Dignity in Dying treasurer Lord Hayward.

Activities

Dignity in Dying campaigns for patient choice at the end-of-life and supports

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

and increased funding and provision of

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

care. It also campaigns for new legislation to permit assisted dying within strict safeguards, and promotes the concept and use of advance decisions in England and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The group has repeatedly published opinion polls showing considerable public support for a change to the law on assisted dying, as well as showing support from doctors and disabled people. Dignity in Dying's stated view is that everyone has the right to a

. They interpret this to mean: * Everybody should be able to choose where they die, who else would be present at that time and the treatment options they would welcome or not. * A person should have access to information on their end-of-life options from qualified experts and their carers, family and friends should also be able to access high quality care and support. * Ultimately an individual should have the right to plan for and then take personal control over their own death, including the medication and pain relief they wish to receive or not. Dignity in Dying also outline how they go about their campaign: * They encourage their supporters to campaign for a change to the current laws so that a terminally ill, mentally competent adult who feels their suffering has become unbearable can opt for an assisted death, subject to strict rules and safeguards. * They will lobby politicians and other decision makers, and look to educate legal and healthcare professionals and the public in general to support this drive towards obtaining a comprehensive national end-of-life strategy and working procedures. * They would generally attempt to empower terminally ill people (and their families and friends) so that they can obtain a better experience as their end-of-life approaches, including access to information on current rights and such devices as Advance Decisions.

Arguments and opposition

One of Dignity in Dying's main arguments is that their proposals for a comprehensive strategy around the issue of assisted dying would provide safeguards and protection for an individual from, for example, the coercive pressures to die that some people believe can be exerted by families of the frail or relatively disadvantaged on occasions. Dignity in Dying argue that at the moment not only can unscrupulous people do this in a relatively unchecked way, but that the legal authorities can generally carry out investigations only after a person's death, whereas under their plans there would be safeguards and checks upfront to ensure a person was fully informed and counselled as to their rights and options and additionally protected from possible malign influences. Dignity in Dying also state that their proposals would alleviate a great deal of the stress and worry that approaching death can bring to a person, particularly one suffering significant pain from a terminal illness. The use of Advance Decisions can help significantly but they also believe that if a right to an Assisted Death is available then the very knowledge of this fact can alleviate many of the worries an individual might have. Dignity in Dying supporters argue that the recent trends towards the use of the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland and press stories regarding botched suicides and do-it-yourself advice would be stopped because individuals would know that when and if they wished to finally request an assisted death in the UK, it would be available as arranged. Indeed, studies from parts of the world that have legalised assisted suicide report that many plans put in place for an early death are not taken up as people end up dying naturally, with the peace of mind brought about by knowing that an assisted death was available if pain and suffering had got too much. For example, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in 2007, it was reported that of the 30,000 deaths in the state that year, 10,000 people considered an assisted death, around 1,000 spoke to their doctor about it, 85 actually got a prescription and just 49 went on to have an assisted death. Dignity in Dying are often opposed by groups such as

, a group that includes the

Christian Medical Fellowship The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), founded in 1949, is an evangelical, interdenominational organisation that links together Christian doctors, medical students, nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom (UK). CMFs stated aims are "uniting ...

, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. Some people of a religious persuasion take the view that all life is sacred and that only natural processes and divine intervention should determine a person's death. Dignity in Dying argue that if a person does not wish to take advantage of a change in the law which would allow for an assisted death then that is down to personal choice. However it strongly opposes opponents who would try to deny an individual a right to a personal choice in the matter by blocking enabling legislation. Meanwhile, opponents argue that the introduction of the sort of legislation supported by Dignity in Dying can be a "

slippery slope A slippery slope argument (SSA), in logic, critical thinking, political rhetoric, and caselaw, is an argument in which a party asserts that a relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant (usuall ...

" towards more draconian measures. Dignity in Dying refutes this by pointing out that the will of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

would be paramount, and any change in the law would be subject to ongoing review once established. They also point out that in those jurisdictions where aid in dying has been made legal (such as the US state of

), the eligibility criteria have not been widened from their initial point. Additionally, some

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...

rights campaigners are concerned that an assisted dying law would lead to extra pressure on some disabled persons to seek a premature death, as they might consider their lives to be devalued. A poll in 2015 found that 86% of people with a disability believed that a person with a terminal and painful illness from which they were certain to die should be allowed an assisted death; however, polling by Scope (charity) reports that the majority of disabled people have concerns about a change in the law concerning assisted dying. Dignity in Dying point to other parts of the world that have some form of assisted dying or similar legislation, which is generally popular and supported by the majority. These include the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and Belgium in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and Oregon,

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

and Vermont in the United States. Dignity in Dying support the legislation of assisted dying (as legal in Oregon under the

Oregon Death with Dignity Act Measure 16 of 1994 established the U.S. state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ORS 127.800–995), which legalizes medical aid in dying (commonly referred to as physician-assisted suicide) with certain restrictions. Passage of this initiativ ...

), whereby a doctor prescribes a life-ending dose of medication to a mentally competent, terminally ill adult at the patient's request, and which the patient administers. This is different to assisted suicide, whereby somebody provides assistance to die to a person who is not terminally ill, and euthanasia, which involves a third party administering the life-ending medication to a patient. Another argument used by Dignity in Dying regards the use of the Dignitas organization in Switzerland, saying that the availability of assisted dying in Switzerland is simply "outsourcing" the problem. Some proponents of assisted dying legislation think the proposals from Dignity in Dying do not go far enough. Organisations such as

My Death My Decision My Death, My Decision (MDMD) is an organisation that campaigns for the legalisation of assisted dying in England and Wales. The group was founded in 2009, in order to campaign for a change in the law and advocate on behalf of adults of sound ...

and

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious be ...

argue that assisted dying legislation should not be limited to those with less than six months to live, but should be available to all mentally competent adults who are suffering unbearably and incurably, irrespective of their projected lifespan. These sentiments appeared to be echoed by Supreme Court justice Lord Neuberger in the judgement of

R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice ''R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice'' was a 2014 judgment by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom that considered the question of the right to die in English law. Facts In 2005 Tony Nicklinson suffered a severe stroke and became paralysed ...

in 2013, when he said "Quite apart from the notorious difficulty in assessing life expectancy even for the terminally ill, there seems to me to be significantly more justification in assisting people to die if they have the prospect of living for many years a life that they regarded as valueless, miserable and often painful, than if they have only a few months left to live".

References

External links

*
Compassion in Dying website
* Jacob Appel
"Next: Assisted Suicide for Healthy People"
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' July 16, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dignity In Dying Organisations based in London Organizations established in 1935 Euthanasia in the United Kingdom Medical and health organisations based in the United Kingdom 1935 establishments in the United Kingdom