NEWS AND COMMENT

‘Five to Midnight’ Before Dementia Takes Over

A BBC story discusses the assisted death of dementia sufferers, in particular the case of Annie Zwijnenberg in the Netherlands. Annie was never in any doubt that she wanted euthanasia,…

Read more

MDMD Campaign Policy Director responds Dominic Lawson

Today, the Daily Mail published an article by Dominic Lawson, criticising the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) decision to poll their members on assisted dying. His article misses some important…

Read more

“Euthanasia in the Netherlands”. Look again, when someone says death will be available on demand.

Christopher Bellaigue raises an important question for those of us who advocate for assisted dying reform. In a society which permits euthanasia, what are the acceptable limits to autonomy? As…

Read more

Pulling “the plug on your life support … because of a message you left on facebook” – Fact or Fiction?

MDMD’s Campaigns and Communication Manager, Keiron McCabe, breaks down the new Clinically-Assisted Hydration and Nutrition Guidance from the British Medical Association Recently, writing in the Daily Mail, Dr Max Pemberton…

Read more

Parliament hears from top Canadian Doctors, on the experiences of assisted dying abroad

On Tuesday 11th December, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on End of Life Choices, met to hear from Dr Sandy Buchman and Professor Sir John Temple, on the role of…

Read more

American Family Physicians Association (AAFP) changes position on medical aid in dying

In October 2018 it is reported that the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) broke ranks with the American Medical Association (AMA) by adopting a position of “engaged neutrality” on…

Read more

MDMD Coordinator asks Baroness Finlay how to avoid late stage dementia

On 29th November 2018 Baroness Ilora Finlay gave a talk at Bristol University titled “As the light fades: Do law and ethics collide?”. Baroness Finlay is a professor of palliative…

Read more

Talking about Dying – More than Meets the Eye?

Recently the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), in a widely reported statement, called for doctors to start talking about death earlier. It followed from a report, “Talking about Dying”, which…

Read more

PRESS RELEASE: Right to Die Campaigner Noel Conway Loses challenge in UK’s Highest Court

Today, assisted dying campaigner Noel Conway has lost permission to bring a case before the Supreme Court. Diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) four years ago, the retired teacher from…

Read more

Assisted Dying in the USA, A Good First Step But Room for Improvement

The BBC2 documentary by Louis Theroux, “Choosing Death”, which aired on Sunday 18th November 2018 and is available on iPlayer until May 2019, showed examples of the Oregon/California right to…

Read more

PRESS RELEASE: A New Documentary Has Explored the Realities of Oregon’s Assisted Dying Model

On Sunday, BBC 2 aired the second installment of Louis Theroux’s new documentary series Altered States. “Choosing Death” followed the journeys of Gus, Lorri and Debra, as they grappled with…

Read more

Videos from Healthcare and Secularism 2018 Conference

In October 2018, the National Secular Society and the Secular Medical Forum held a joint conference on Healthcare and Secularism. The final two talks concerned assisted dying and the right…

Read more

Dementia and Alzheimer’s still increasing as leading cause of death

The Office of National Statistics has recently published data on cause of death in 2017. For the third year running Dementia and Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of death, and…

Read more

Video Evidence helps in Rational Suicide Inquest

The BBC reported the inquest into the death of Beryl Taylor(70) who died in Rattlesden, Suffolk, in July 2016. The case is also reported in more detail in the East…

Read more

The Omid T Judicial Review: “Bound to be Dismissed”?

On Tuesday 2nd October 2018, Omid T’s assisted dying case , known as R (on the Application of T) v Ministry of Justice [2018] EWHC 2615 (Admin), lost at its…

Read more

Exclusive Interview with Andi Reiss, Film Director, and personal friend of Omid

MDMD's Campaigns and Communications Manager, Keiron McCabe, spoke exclusively with “Endgame” director Andi Reiss about Omid’s journey. Andi was present at Omid's medically assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Read more

Omid Ends his life at Lifecircle in Switzerland

On October 4th 2018, assisted dying campaigner, Omid T chose to end his life by a medically assisted suicide at Lifecircle near Basle, Switzerland. Although Omid was still awaiting the…

Read more

Economist Essay Series on Assisted Dying

The Economist is publishing a series of essays by those involved in the Assisted Dying debate. We are delighted that one of the invited authors is Dr. Michael Irwin, MDMD's…

Read more

Supreme court decision on withholding food and drink in PVS cases

The BBC report on the ruling by the Supreme Court that legal permission will no longer be required to end care for patients in a long-term permanent vegetative state. The…

Read more

Scottish Parliament removes time limit in definition of “terminally ill”

MDMD are delighted to learn that the Scottish parliament has removed any time limit from its definition of "terminally ill" in their Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.  The story was…

Read more