Euthanasia, or medically assisted dying, is currently illegal in both the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Isles.
Although that could change soon.
Currently, any doctor or person who practices euthanasia can face prosecution for manslaughter or murder.
Even helping a terminally ill person to take their own life, called assisted suicide, is a crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
While there is no specific law on assisted suicide in Scotland, helping someone to end their own life could give rise to a manslaughter prosecution in circumstances where a court determines that a person’s death was not entirely voluntary.
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In theory, these laws also apply to Britons who specifically help their loved ones seek a medically assisted death abroad, in countries such as Switzerland.
Scottish courts have said that assisting and accompanying someone seeking a medically assisted death in a country like Switzerland would not normally attract prosecution.
Those who go, or plan to go, to clinics like Dignitas alone would not be breaking any laws.
The Crown Prosecution Service investigated 182 cases of assisted suicide between April 2009 and March 2023, the latest data available.
However, it is not known where they took place.
Four were successfully prosecuted. Another was charged but acquitted, and eight were aggravated with murder or another serious crime.
Another four are underway.
It should be noted that the crime of assisting suicide is not limited to medical cases.
Recorded crimes may also include attempts to intimidate or pressure healthy people to commit suicide.
Dignitas figures have recorded that more than 400 Britons have died through their service since 2009.
Some form of assisted dying or assisted suicide is legal in at least 27 jurisdictions worldwide.
And Scotland could be the first UK nation to join them.
A bill on medically assisted dying is expected to be debated at Holyrood next year.
any bill It would need to be scrutinized by Scotland’s health committee, before being debated for the first time and put to a vote. So even with majority support, the law wouldn’t change overnight.
Other places in the British Isles, although not part of the United Kingdom, are also seeking their own law change.
The Isle of Man is currently debating proposals on assisted dying.
Its legislature, the Tynwald, is due to prepare a report soon. If legalized, only those with six months to live would be allowed to do so. They also must have lived there for at least a year.
Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, took an “in principle” decision in 2021 to legalize assisted dying, with subsequent consultations taking place.
In the process, politicians will debate how to implement a law later this year. If the assembly approves the policy proposals, it would see them draft a law, a process that would take between 12 and 18 months.
Once a bill is passed, there will be another 18-month implementation period before it comes into effect.
The proposals would allow those suffering from a terminal illness or experiencing “unbearable suffering” to end their lives.
People will be required to have been “ordinarily resident in Jersey for at least 12 months” to be eligible.
