Will assisted dying ever become legal in the UK?

As Noel Conway fights for his right to die with dignity, the high court has heard that the 1961 Suicide Act violates human rights and personal autonomy. Not only is this one of many similar cases in the UK, but a recent public poll has shown that 82% of Britons support voluntary euthanasia. So, could euthanasia eventually become legal in the UK?

Having been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, 67 year-old Noel Conway has less than a year to live and is reliant on breathing apparatus to keep him alive. Feeling “entombed”, Conway believes he deserves medical help to end his life before his condition worsens to a point where he is unable to give full consent. This is not the first time such a case has made it to the high court, and with many others in similar situations calling for change in the law there is hope that the high court will listen.

Groups in favour of legalised euthanasia argue that current laws are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights; article 8 provides a right to respect for an individual’s private and family life. Supporters believe that everyone should have the right to end their lives as they wish in accordance with their own personal autonomy and that the state should have no right to interfere with their personal wishes.

The last major attempt to change the law was in 2015 when Lord Falconer proposed his Assisted Dying Bill; his bill would have allowed doctors to administer lethal injections to patients with less than six months to live who gave explicit consent. The bill was rejected by 74% of MPs in a free vote in the Commons. A poll at the time found that 70% of the public were actively in favour of the bill, with only 13% actively opposed.

Medical and disabled groups had their opinions voiced through MPs throughout the debate. The BMA, in particular, has always taken the stance that physician-assisted suicide carries the risk of putting vulnerable populations in danger and contradicts the medical duties of doctors. They claim such a fundamental change could mean an emphasis on ending the lives of suffering patients instead of prioritising palliative care as is the current case.

Although MPs acknowledged and agreed that the state should not be able allowed to interfere with someone else’s life and personal choice, the opinions of medical organisations were enough to sway MPs to oppose the bill. One MP said:

“This Bill is about principle: it is about freedom and choice. Although I respect the views of everybody who has spoken today, it is not for us to deny people a say in how they die. It is their life, not ours. ”

Other arguments also acknowledged the success of euthanasia laws implemented in Oregon, where no cases of abuse in the law had been recorded. Many MPs were confident that the proposed bill had enough safeguards to ensure no one would be put at risk as a result of the law.

Nonetheless, MPs were not comfortable with the idea that such a change in the law would mean a drastic change in British society and the way it deals with the disabled, elderly and terminally-ill. One MP also expressed her concern that the proposed bill could encourage the NHS to help end the lives of individuals whenever possible as a means to increase efficiency in the healthcare system that is already under so much pressure.

The fact remains that public opinion will have little sway over the decision to allow assisted dying in the UK. The real question is whether MPs will ever change their minds about the role of doctors and whether they believe euthanasia laws can be safely implemented in the UK without going down a path where vulnerable populations are put at risk and society’s views are drastically changed.