NEWS
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
Eamonn Holmes wants an assisted death in Switzerland if he has dementia – but he shouldn’t rely on others.
Breakfast TV News presenter Eamonn Holmes has been widely quoted in the media for openly saying that he would prefer a medically assisted death if he developed dementia. A Sun…
Dr David Goodall (104) travels from Australia for a Good Death in Switzerland
There has been much reporting of the death of 104 year old Dr David Goodall, who ended his life at Lifecircle in Switzerland on 10th May 2018. The BBC include…
Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on End of Life Choices meeting
MDMD Associate Coordinator Colin Brewer represented MDMD at the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on End of Life Choices. Here is his report...
Should we be able to choose our own death?
The BBC Ideas website has recently added a short video titled ‘Should we be able to choose our own death?’. Although MDMD had no part in its making, it demonstrates…
Dignitas hit out at UK politicians
Dignitas issued a hard-hitting press release this week "Ignorance, irresponsibility and hypocrisy – How a majority of UK politicians violate human rights and create suffering and costs". Here's an extract:
Extending the Oregon Right to Die Law. Evidence of a “Slippery Slope”?
A recent article in the Washington Post describes moves in Oregon, USA to try to extend their Death with Dignity Act to include help for those suffering from degenerative diseases…
The courts may be able to wait, but Omid can’t.
The latest stage of Omid’s legal case to be allowed an assisted death in the UK was heard in the High Court on 7/8th March 2018. The Daily Mail reported…
Is the Dutch Euthanasia law working as intended?
The Daily Mail reported recently on a number of euthanasia cases in the Netherlands which are being investigated over concerns that the correct procedures may not have been followed, leading…
Living with Dementia – comparing two cases of Early Onset Dementia
The Observer recently published a story about Wendy Mitchell, an Alzheimer's sufferer whose memoir, 'Somebody I Used to Know', has recently been published. The article gives in interesting insight into…
Lady Lucan Coronor’s Suicide Verdict – Fear of Parkinson’s Disease
The Telegraph reports that the coroner investigating the death of Lady Lucan in September 2017 recorded a verdict of suicide. Lady Lucan is reported to have "self-diagnosed" as having Parkinson's…
Hospital trust pays out £45,000 for ignoring an Advance Decision
The BBC report the case of 81 yr old Brenda Grant who was kept alive for 22 months by artificial feeding, against the instructions in her Advance Decision, (AD), because…
New Report on Outsourcing Assisted Dying to Switzerland
An excellent report 'The True Cost - How the UK Outsources Death to Dignitas' was recently published by Dignity in Dying, discussing the many difficulties associated with UK citizens choosing…
Victoria, Australia law passes the upper house
Excellent news from Australia. Further to our previous report, the upper house of the Australian state of Victoria has passed a Voluntary Assisted Dying bill. The bill passed by 22…
Pharmacist driven to break a bad law.
The Daily Telegraph has been following another case relating to assisted suicide / murder. Pharmacist Bipin Desai was accused of giving his 85 year old father a lethal drink containing…
Dementia and Alzheimer’s increasingly the leading cause of death
n October 2016 the Office of National Statistics reported that in 2015 dementia and Alzheimer's were now the leading cause of death in England and Wales. We discussed this in…
When is it right to turn off Life Support?
The Daily Mail recently reported a case of a 74 year old woman in a minimally conscious state, whose daughter has won a court case to have her mother's life…
Update on Omid T’s High Court Case
Omid T suffers from Multiple Systems Atrophy. An incurable condition which has permanently reduced his quality of life below the level he is able to accept. It is not a…
Is “Mercy Killing” ever the right thing to do?
The BBC, and a number of newspapers, (see the Ayrshire Post), report the story of Ian Gordon who smothered his wife of 46 years with a pillow as "a final…
MS Sufferer Colin Campbell’s deferred assisted death raises important questions about help for the disabled
In April 2017 MS sufferer Colin Campbell publicly stated his intention to end his life in Switzerland on June 15th 2017. Due to the intervention of fellow MS sufferer Rona…
Progress in Victoria, Australia
MDMD is pleased to see that an assisted dying bill in Victoria is making good progress, having passed a vote in the lower house by 47 to 37. The Bill…
Lord Carey explains his change of mind on Assisted Dying
In a short Radio 4 programme in the series "Why I Changed My Mind", broadcast on 18th Sept 2017, former archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, explains why, in 2014, he…
