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The law | Dignity in Dying Skip to content Dignity in Dying Donate FacebookTwitter HomeAboutLatestYour rightsContact Menu Search Assisted dyingOpen sub-menuOverviewOur positionPublic opinionKey questionsThe lawInternational examplesWe’re not whistle-stop forWhy we need changeOpen sub-menuOverviewThe factsSuicidesDignitasPersonal storiesTake actionOpen sub-menuOverviewDonateBecome a memberTell us your storyLeave a souvenir in your willCampaign with others in your local zone Search HomeAboutLatestYour rightsContact Assisted dying The law In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, profitable a suicide is a crime. Those convicted could squatter up to 14 years in prison. There is no specific treason of profitable a suicide in Scotland. But it is possible that helping a person to die could lead to prosecution for culpable homicide. Why the current law does not work The law throughout the UK prevents dying people from asking for medical help to die. People who want to tenancy their deaths squatter an untellable choice. Some travel upalong to die, at unconfined expense and often older than they might like. Others take their own lives at home, risking a painful and gruesome death. The law denies dying people a meaningful nomination over how they die. I just want to say a word well-nigh the current law, which puts families in the most invidious position... if someone acts out of wool compassion, they are still left with their home stuff supposed a treason scene and with a police investigation...That is surely an intolerable position. Norman Lamb Liberal Democrat MP Prosecution policy If someone has helped a person to die, it is up to prosecutors if they will prosecute them or not. In England and Wales, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Crown Prosecution Service decide if it is in the public interest to prosecute. Similar rules govern the Crown Office in Scotland and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a published policy describes when a specimen is likely to be prosecuted. The policy distinguishes between understanding and malicious acts. The guidelines requite individuals an indication of how the law is likely to treat them, but do not provide guarantees and have not decriminalised assisted dying. We have arrived at a position where compassionate, ventriloquist assistance from nearest and dearest is wonted but professional medical assistance is not, unless someone has the ways and physical assistance to get to Dignitas. That to my mind is an injustice that we have trapped within our current arrangement. Sir Keir Starmer Former Director of Public Prosecutions Recent attempts to transpiration the law Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill (2013) The Bill would have unliable a person with a terminal, life-limiting or life-shortening disease to end their life without stuff prescribed with a life-ending medication by a doctor. Lord Falconers Assisted Dying Bill (2014) This Bill proposed to indulge terminally ill, mentally competent adults to have an assisted death without stuff tried by two doctors. Rob Marris’s Assisted Dying Bill (2015) Rob Marris MP introduced an Assisted Dying Bill based on Lord Falconer’s Bill introduced in 2014. Landmark cases Martin An individual known as Martin suffered a brainstem stroke in August 2008. This left him scrutinizingly completely unable to move. He wished to end his life by travelling abroad. Tony Nicklinson Tony Nicklinson had a stroke in 2005. He was paralysed and could only move his throne and his eyes. For many years, he had wanted to end his life, but could not do so without help. Diane Pretty Diane Pretty had Motor Neurone Disease (MND). She wanted to tenancy the time and manner of her death. Debbie Purdy Debbie Purdy had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Shortly without her diagnosis in 1995, she began to think well-nigh how to have nomination and tenancy over her death. On this siteWell-nighus Resources Work for us Privacy policy Get in touch Dignity in Dying 181 Oxford Street London W1D 2JT 020 7479 7730 Our sister soft-heartedness Compassion in Dying can support you to plan superiority to get the end-of-life superintendency that is right for you. logo-cid FacebookTwitter Dignity in Dying is a not-for-profit membership organisation and a visitor limited by guarantee no. 4452809 Website by The Bureau We use cookies to modernize this website. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.