Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide Briefing Paper Series Launched

Ahead of the Second Reading of Baroness Meacher’s ‘Assisted Dying’ Bill, as well as the consideration of proposals to introduce euthanasia in the Bailiwick of Jersey which will take place in late November, and the continuing debate about assisted suicide in Scotland, the Anscombe Bioethics Centre has launched a series of briefing papers dealing with the legalisation of physician involvement in causing the death of patients.

These papers clarify the issues at stake in the social, political, and medical discussion, examining the definitions concerning, and practical consequences of, legalising physician involvement in assisting a patient to end their own life, or directly causing their death.

The first three papers have been published on the Centre’s website, and others will follow in the coming weeks and months:

The first paper by Anscombe Centre Director Prof. David Albert Jones deals with clarifying the terms of the debate and avoiding ambiguous euphemisms for the realities being discussed.

The second by Prof. John Keown addresses the ‘slippery slope’ problems of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide.

The third by Dr Mark S. Komrad discusses the Canadian euthanasia law and how it has followed the Benelux countries in enabling suicide for people with psychiatric disorders.

It has never been more important to achieve clarity in debates concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide, and to appreciate the full range of evidence from those jurisdictions which have experimented with physicians bringing about the death of their patients. The Anscombe Centre’s briefing paper series will inform medical professionals, legislators, opinion-formers, and the general public, about the most crucially important realities of these practices. You can read the full briefing paper series on its dedicated page on our website, here.