November 29th 2024.
Today, a significant decision was made in the UK Parliament as Members of Parliament voted in favor of the assisted dying bill. This marks a monumental step towards legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales. The bill proposes that individuals who have been given a prognosis of six months or less to live can request and receive assistance to end their life. While 330 MPs voted in favor of the bill, 275 voted against it, and it is expected to take at least three more years before it can become law.
Assisted dying is already permitted in several countries around the world, with Switzerland being the first nation to legalize it as far back as 1942. Other countries, such as Columbia, Luxemburg, and certain US states, followed suit in 1997. Over the next 17 years, many more nations, including all but one Australian state, have also changed their laws to allow assisted dying in some form.
It is important to note that the rules and regulations for assisted dying vary in each country. The proposed bill in England and Wales is said to have the strictest guidelines in the world, according to its proponents. Under this bill, patients would need the approval of two doctors and a High Court Judge, and they must be terminally ill. To see a map of all the countries where assisted dying is legal and when it was introduced, you can visit our interactive map. Additionally, we have taken a closer look at some of these countries and their laws surrounding assisted dying below.
Switzerland was the first country to legalize assisted dying in 1942, with the condition that the motive is not selfish. Here, doctors can prescribe and administer medication to patients, or they can provide the medication for self-administration. Organizations like Dignitas offer their services to foreign nationals in Switzerland.
In the United States, medical aid in dying, also known as physician-assisted dying, is legal in ten states, including California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia. Oregon was the first state to legalize it in 1997, allowing mentally competent, terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request life-ending medication. People from outside the state can also travel to Oregon to take advantage of this law.
Moving on to the Netherlands, the 'Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act' was implemented in 2002. Here, doctors are not punished for performing euthanasia or assisted suicide on patients who are experiencing unbearable suffering with no chance of improvement. Minors as young as 12 can request euthanasia, but they need parental permission if they are under 16 years old.
Belgium also legalized medically assisted dying in 2002, specifically for terminally ill patients and those suffering from unbearable conditions, including psychiatric conditions. In 2014, the law was extended to minors under the age of 18, with parental permission.
Canada introduced 'Medical Assistance in Dying' in 2016 for those whose death was deemed to be reasonably foreseeable. In 2021, the law was expanded to include individuals with a grievous and irremediable medical condition. However, the country has delayed plans to extend assisted dying to those with mental illnesses until 2027.
Lastly, in Australia, voluntary assisted dying is legal in most states for terminally ill patients or those with intolerable suffering due to a medical condition. This was first introduced in Victoria in 2019, and doctors can either prescribe medication for self-administration or administer it to the patient.
Just recently, Spain also approved a law allowing euthanasia and medically assisted suicide for individuals with incurable or debilitating diseases who wish to end their life. This law was passed in 2021.
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