With another bid to legalise assisted suicide expected in the next Parliament, it is imperative that voters and candidates address protection for vulnerable people at the end of life
Disability activist describes 'the thing that solidified for me that we actually can't safely put in place in this country assisted suicide legislation', as Western Australia mulls euthanasia
Sir Bernard Jenkin asserted that 'the question is whether we can safely change the law in a way that does not create new or worse dangers.' Jim Shannon contended that 'the right to die for the eloquent and financially well off will become a duty to die for the vulnerable.'
It's simple, straightforward and will work because we want it to - that's the message that comes across in advocates' polling questions, and in increasingly exasperated Commons speeches. But is it true?
Just four years after a packed Commons debated the topic, informed by months of expert briefings and consultations, assisted suicide was dragged back before the House. Why?
MPs pursuing a change in the law on assisted suicide sought to shift the focus away from the weaknesses of their legislative offerings and onto emotive hard cases - but couldn't resist returning to old ground.
Days before the administration he serves in comes to an end, pro-assisted suicide Justice Secretary David Gauke makes a 'call for evidence' concerning a possible change in the law
Government minister tells assisted suicide campaigner the Government will not form policy on a matter of conscience, and reminds peers that the current law has been judged to strike a 'fair balance'
Former Supreme Court justice Lord Sumption questions basis of claimed public support for assisted suicide and says current legal protections are necessary to guard against abuse
MSPs note concerns 'that it would be impossible to put adequate safeguards in place, and... that the abuse of vulnerable people would probably take place'
Portugal follows Finland, Guernsey and California in encouraging May pushbacks against euthanasia and assisted suicide - but a new bill looms in Dublin
Between the Court of Appeal, impassioned legislative debate in Guernsey and a 104-year old travelling to Switzerland for assisted suicide, there's been much to comment on in May - and CNK's responses have been front and centre.
Deputies of the States of Deliberation in St Peter Port vote 24-14 against assisted suicide, and 37-1 in favour of a review of palliative and end of life care
Guernsey's Policy and Resources Committee, the senior governmental body, and the Guernsey Disability Alliance have both stated their opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia proposals ahead of a 16 May vote
Quebec legislated for euthanasia months before the Supreme Court-mandated federal legislation came into being. After just two years, comparisons are being made with the Belgian experience.
