Lords publish report on Assisted Dying Bill The Committee has completed the inquiry. The Report [HL Paper 86] and was published on 4th April. The Committee examined the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill. The Committee heard from more than 140 witnesses in the UK, The Netherlands, the US State of Oregon and Switzerland. It received 60 submissions of written evidence from organisations and more than 14,000 letters and e-mails from individuals.
THE NETHERLANDS AVT00/WS61419A Upper House of the States General 2000 - 2001 session 26 691 Review procedures for the termination of life on request and assisted suicide and amendment of the Criminal Code and the Burial and Cremation Act (Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act) European Journal of Health Law 8: 183-191, 2001.
The Swiss Government is considering new laws that are likely to make it harder for foreigners to travel to clinics, such as Dignitas, to get help to end their life. Recently the British conductor Edward Downes and his wife, Joan, used the services of Dignitas. Unlike his wife, Sir Edward, 85, did not have a terminal illness. In June the Swiss justice minister, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, announced that two different draft pieces of legislation would be considered in parliament this autumn. "One is a complete ban on assisted suicide, and one is the introduction of stricter, clearer legislation," she said. Currently it is legal in Switzerland to assist in a suicide unless it can be proved that the assistant has a selfish motive. Opinion polls have always shown that about two thirds of the population have a liberal attitude towards self determined death. But the Swiss are opposed to commercial assisted suicide and the cost to the nation of investigating cases.
On 25 February, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, launched the Policy for Prosecutors in respect of cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide.
An attempt to change the law in Scotland to help terminally ill people end their lives has been heavily defeated in the Scottish Parliament. The End of Life Assistance Bill was proposed by the MSP Margo MacDonald, who has Parkinson’s disease, but was rejected by 85 votes to 16. It would have made it legal to help someone over the age of 16 years who is terminally ill or permanently incapacitated to take their own life. It follows a detailed examination of the issue by the Scottish parliament, which set up a special committee to investigate the proposal. It took evidence from doctors, religious groups, and legal experts from around the world including Oregon and the Netherlands where physician assisted suicide has been legalised.
Soutenu par le PS, le PCF et une partie de l'UMP, le texte a été adopté en commission. Les uns y voient une avancée notable, les autres une cause d'inquiétude. La commission des affaires sociales du Sénat a adopté, mardi 18 janvier, une proposition de loi visant à instaurer « un droit à demander une assistance médicale pour mourir » pour les patients en phase terminale. La proposition de loi, qui sera discutée en séance le 25 janvier, a été adoptée par 25 voix contre 19 et 2 abstentions. C'est la première fois qu'un texte autorisant l'euthanasie franchit cette étape parlementaire.
SENATE BILL NO. 167 INTRODUCED BY A. BLEWETT A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ALLOWING A TERMINALLY ILL PATIENT TO REQUEST MEDICATION TO END THE PATIENT'S LIFE; ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES; PROVIDING THE RIGHT TO RESCIND THE REQUEST; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING IMMUNITY FOR PERSONS PARTICIPATING IN GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROCEDURES; PROVIDING RULEMAKING AUTHORITY; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."