In the 16 years between April 2009 and March 2026 there were 209 cases referred by the UK police to the Crown Prosecution Service for possible prosecution on the grounds of “assisting a suicide” under the Suicide Act of 1961. That was an average of 13 per year. Many of these will have been self-referred… Continue reading UK Assisted Suicide cases
The release last week by Dignitas of their figures for 2025 revealed a critical point about assisted dying. It is a point that has been entirely neglected by campaigners who continue to resist any change to the law.. The worldwide membership of Dignitas is now 15,968. That is an increase of 6½% on the 2024… Continue reading A critical point neglected
The news this evening that the Scottish Parliament has voted against its Assisted Dying Bill will be a huge blow to right-to-die campaigners everywhere. The vote, by 57 in favour to 69 against, is likely to postpone by at least five years any meaningful attempt to change the current law, even though more than 70%… Continue reading Scotland says No
When someone dies in Switzerland as a result of an Assisted Voluntary Death then a death certificate needs to be issued. For local Swiss residents, this is a simple procedure and rarely takes longer than a few days. For non-Swiss visitors, however, the certificate needs to be in the form of an “International Death Certificate”… Continue reading Trouble with Swiss death certificates
If you live in the UK and help someone to go to Switzerland for an Assisted Voluntary Death then you will, almost certainly, have committed the offence of “assisting a suicide”. Simply joining them on the trip would probably be sufficient. However, crucially, you would not be prosecuted for the offence if you were clearly… Continue reading “The delay IS the punishment”
Athanasios was launched in March 2025. By the end of the year it had completed 82 AVD cases and had built a team of eight staff members. From a standing start it had therefore served about 12% of the non-Swiss people seeking to end their lives peacefully in Switzerland. That was quite an achievement. Their… Continue reading Athanasios – an update
Assisted Dying has been legalised in New York and Illinois. Their respective Governors have now signed the new Bills. They will become operative in New York in August 2026 and in Illinois the following month. In both states, the new legislation will allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live… Continue reading Assisted Dying legalised in two more US States
In a recent message to its members, Humanists UK said “Extensive filibustering and a record number of amendments from unelected peers now mean it is almost certain that the Assisted Dying Bill will fail”. This assessment has not yet been endorsed by either of the other two Assisted Dying campaign organisers – Dignity in Dying… Continue reading UK Bill “almost certain” to fail – Humanists
Most enquiries to the newer providers of Assisted Voluntary Dying (AVD) in Switzerland are from people who want to come in the very near future. This is in striking contrast to the position only a decade ago. In 2016 there were only two organisations in Switzerland that offered AVD services to people who were not… Continue reading Many AVD visitors “now want to come straightaway”
Phoenix Care is the newest of the Voluntary Assisted Dying providers in Switzerland. Since their launch in Spring 2025 they have completed over twenty AVD procedures. Most took place in one of the purpose-designed apartments in Liestal near Basel. Other were conducted in Swiss citizens’ homes. No issues or problems have been reported. The founders,… Continue reading Phoenix Care – an update
