New evidence from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) has revealed that a majority of the English public believes family members and friends who help loved ones travel abroad for an assisted death should not face criminal investigation. The findings, based on a Citizens’ Jury and two national surveys, reinforce growing calls for compassionate reform in the UK’s approach to assisted dying. Humanists UK welcomes this report as further evidence of the urgent need for reform.
Currently, anyone assisting a person in traveling abroad to access assisted dying may face police investigation and potential prosecution. But a landmark Citizens’ Jury – the first of its kind in England – found that this approach is widely viewed as unjust. The Jury concluded that assisting a loved one in these circumstances should be decriminalised. This sentiment was echoed by 68% of survey respondents, reflecting a clear public mandate for change.
These findings come at a pivotal moment as Parliament debates the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. While the Bill proposes to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, it does not clarify the legal status of those who support individuals seeking assisted dying abroad. The NCOB report highlights public concerns that, even if the Bill is passed, some people may still need to travel overseas to access assisted dying and that their supporters should not be treated as criminals. This is an issue because the Bill will only provide for assisted dying for those with six months or fewer to live, and most people who travel to Switzerland to die right now do not have six months or fewer to live.
The report also reveals that there is strong public support for assisted dying eligibility beyond the six-month prognosis currently proposed in the legislation. Additionally, the report highlights that the majority of opposition to assisted dying is based on religious beliefs, whereas the broader public largely supports the legalisation of assisted dying with appropriate safeguards.
In February 2022, Sue Lawford was arrested at 05:30, put in a cell and held for 19 hours, and then subjected to a six-month police investigation, for escorting a woman to receive a medically assisted death in Switzerland. Meanwhile, police officers searched her house for over four hours. They seized her phone, electronic devices, passport, and documents relating to her work. They also took away electronic devices belonging to her husband, who had no connection whatsoever with the case. The person she assisted was 60-year-old Sharon Johnston from Cardigan, who became tetraplegic following a fall at her previous home in Aberystwyth. Sharon spoke publicly about her wish to have an assisted death in 2021 BBC documentary When Would You Want to Die?
Sue was kept in a police cell for 16 hours, before being interrogated by Dyfed Powys Police, with a duty solicitor in attendance. She was released ‘pending investigation’. That investigation was dropped after six and a half months, due to ‘evidential difficulties’. Sue says being under arrest for such a long time was detrimental to her mental health. Her possessions, and those of her husband, were only returned at the end of the investigation.
Sue Lawford said:
‘The current law is wrong. No-one should be forced abroad, to leave their home and their loved ones, to have a compassionate death on their own terms. This report is yet more evidence that we need broad and compassionate assisted dying laws here in the UK. At the end of life we need compassion, not investigations’.
Richy Thompson, Director of Public Affairs and Policy, said:
‘No-one should have to endure a police investigation for acting out of love and compassion for a terminally ill relative. The law as it stands is cruel and outdated – it must change.’
Notes
The Citizens’ Jury was conducted with 30 participants reflecting a cross-section of English society, and two national surveys gathered responses from 2,000 people each.
For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan@humanists.uk or phone 07456200033.
If you have been affected by the current assisted dying legislation, and want to use your story to support a change in the law, please email campaigns@humanists.uk.
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Humanists defend the right of each individual to live by their own personal values, and the freedom to make decisions about their own life so long as this does not result in harm to others. Humanists do not share the attitudes to death and dying held by some religious believers, in particular that the manner and time of death are for a deity to decide, and that interference in the course of nature is unacceptable. We firmly uphold the right to life but we recognise that this right carries with it the right of each individual to make their own judgement about whether their life should be prolonged in the face of pointless suffering.
We recognise that any assisted dying law must contain strong safeguards, but the international evidence from countries where assisted dying is legal shows that safeguards can be effective. We also believe that the choice of assisted dying should not be considered an alternative to palliative care, but should be offered together as in many other countries.
Read six reasons we need an assisted dying law.
Read more about our analysis of the assisted dying inquiry.
Read more about our campaign to legalise assisted dying in the UK.
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