Author: Dr Tony Duffy, Consultant Palliative Medicine, Edinburgh, Scotland Introduction: In the context of the current UK assisted dying debate, the terms ‘faecal’ and ‘faeculent’ vomiting have been publicly employed, including during the Second Reading debate in parliament. This terminology has featured in stories of unpleasant deaths to contextualise why some people feel assisted suicide […]
Category: Assisted Dying
Assisted Dying in Germany- Munich study raises concerns
Author: Mark Taubert, NHS Consultant and Professor of Palliative Medicine, Cardiff, UK It can be a challenge finding data on assisted dying and euthanasia in jurisdictions where it is legal. In some areas the data is not made available, elsewhere not much is recorded or observed beyond patient demographics. Finding detail on complication rates and […]
Do They Go Gently?
Authors: Dr. Benjamin Thomas, Staff Specialist in Palliative Medicine, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, NSW, Australia. bluesky: andiyar.bsky.social Dr. Greg Barclay, Senior Staff Specialist in Palliative Medicine, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, NSW, Australia Introduction: Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is becoming more widespread in multiple jurisdictions around the world. Legislation is currently […]
Assisted dying in the UK – law change must be informed by robust evidence
Author: Professor Katherine E Sleeman, King’s College London, UK The UK is moving closer to legalisation of assisted dying. One of the arguments made in favour of legalisation is the limit of palliative care to resolve all suffering. Many of the speeches made in support of the Leadbeater bill (which would legalise assisted dying […]
The Victorian assisted suicide experience and its implications
Author: Hon. Robert Clark, former Attorney-General and MP, Victoria, Australia. Introduction The experience of Victoria, Australia, has been cited in the United Kingdom debate as a shining example of how an assisted suicide regime can work well. I demonstrate here that this is not so, and set out some implications of the Victorian experience. The […]
Could assisted dying for ‘terminal anorexia’ be coming to the NHS?
Author: Chelsea Roff Chelsea is Executive Director of Eat Breathe Thrive, a non-profit organisation that works to help people recover from eating disorders. Connect on X and LinkedIn. For an audio version of this post, please click here Introduction: When I first learned about a physician in Colorado helping patients with eating disorders die by […]
Discrimination-driven deaths – Analysing Ontario Coroner Reports on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Author: Dr. Ramona Coelho, Family Physician; Senior Fellow of Domestic and Health Policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Member of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Death Review Committee; Ontario, Canada. New – Listen to this post on Spotify, read by the author: Introduction: As a family physician in Ontario, Canada, my practice largely serves marginalised groups: […]