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Arguments Against Legalising Assisted Dying

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Assisted dying refers to a situation in which a mentally competent adult with a terminal illness makes a voluntary and informed choice, after meeting specified legal safeguards, to be provided with medically supervised assistance to end their own life. Assisted dying is currently illegal in the United Kingdom . The topic of its legality has been subject to continuous debate both in Parliament and among the general public. On 11 September 2015, the Assisted Dying (No. 2) Bill, aimed at legalising assisted dying in England and Wales, was debated and defeated in the House of Commons, with Members of Parliament expressing compelling and contrasting arguments. This essay will present the arguments often expressed against legalising assisted dying as well as criticisms of those arguments. A major criticism of assisted dying legalisation is the ‘slippery slope’ argument, which can be interpreted in two different ways. The first interpretation is that legalising assisted dying just for the terminally ill would create a framework within which debates and campaigns to extend its legality to cover other groups of people would occur. Such groups of people could include people suffering from irreversible diseases like dementia, people who …show more content…

The Netherlands model rightfully raises concerns over the possible negative impacts of legalising assisted dying, but those concerns should not be considered sufficient enough to oppose assisted dying. As Huw Merriman (Conservative Member of Parliament) remarked, it is relatively unreasonable to oppose the legalisation of assisted dying, despite the limitations in its applicability, based on the notion that it may create opportunities for unsatisfactory legislation to be implemented in the

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