Sir Terry Pratchett film on assisted suicide

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BHA: MPs' support for assisted dying guidance 'a welcome first step'

Assisted dying was debated in the House of Commons yesterday, the first major debate on the issue since 1997. After almost five hours, MPs agreed without a vote to endorse the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPPs’) guidelines on when to prosecute individuals for assisting another to die. However, a further motion, which would have invited the government to consult as to whether to put the guidance on a statutory basis, was not supported.

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The British Humanist Association calls for compassion and rationality on assisted dying.

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An independent Member of the Scottish Parliament has taken the first step towards introducing a bill legalising assisted suicide in Scotland, a move welcomed by the British Humanist Association (BHA) as ‘Progress in the campaign for a compassionate law that respects the rights of the individual whilst protecting the vulnerable’.

14/06/11

A controversial BBC film on assisted suicide broadcast last night showed the death of a British man with motor neurone disease at Dignitas in Switzerland.

Sir Terry Pratchett travelled to the clinic and watched as Peter Smedley, a 71-year-old hotelier from Guernsey with motor neurone disease, took a lethal dose of barbiturates.

The experience did not change the mind of the 63-year-old author, who has been a campaigner for the right to assisted suicide since he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Assisted suicide is illegal in the UK, but it is legal in Switzerland, where the law does not prevent it provided it is carried out altruistically.

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Sir Terry Pratchett film on assisted suicide

14/06/11

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