England

"Welcome to Washington, Dr. Berwick"
( The Leaf Chronicle - - July 18, 2010 )
Dr. Donald Berwick, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. praised the British National Healthcare System (NHS) at its 60th anniversary meeting for implementing a socialized health care system - rather choosing America's plan. But a 2009 NHS audit found that health care managers put cost cutting ahead of patient care and cited that "appalling standards of care" may hae contributed to the deaths of up to 1,200 people in just one hospital. 

"Cash crisis in NHS leaves patients lying on operating tables"
( Telegraph - - July 18, 2010 )
A cash crisis in the NHS leaves patients lying on operating tables before doctors realised vital equipment had not been ordered....Women in labour have been forced to wait while epidural equipment was borrowed from other hospitals....vital equipment is regularly not ordered. More

"Mercy Killing? Never. I'll always fight like a lioness for my darling boy..."
( Daily Mail - - February 18, 2010 )
It's this close involvement in his care that convinces me that we must maintain the protection of the courts for people like my son, even from me, his mother....My fear is that if people begin to think of assisted suicide as an option then the balance will change. More

Final Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide
( Issued by Director of Public Prosecutions - - February 2010 )
Specific guidelines for use in determining whether a person assisting suicide should be prosecuted.

"Martin Amis in new row over 'euthanasia booths'"
( The Guardian - - January 24, 2010 )
British author says a "silver tsunami" of increasingly aging people puts pressure on society. Stating there will be a population of demented very old people, "stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops," Martin Amis calls for euthanasia booths on every corner. More

 "New assisted suicide guidelines to give 'clear advice' to relatives"
( Guardian - September 23, 2009 )
Guidelines are designed to help people know if they will face prosecution for helping someone kill themselves. More

"Assisted suicide guidelines laid out by Director of Public Prosecutions"
( Telegraph - September 23, 2009 )
UK Director of Public Prosecutions issues interim guidelines on prosecuting assisted suicide. More

   Summary of UK assisted-suicide interim guidelines

   Complete UK assisted-suicide interim guidelines

"Sentenced to death on the NHS"
( The Daily Telegraph - London, UK - September 2, 2009 )
Patients with terminal illnesses are being made to die prematurely under an NHS scheme to help end their lives, leading doctors warn today. More

"The chilling truth about the city where they pay people to die"
( Daily Mail - - August 8, 2009 )
Lord Joffe is working to pass an assisted-suicide law in the UK. He and other activists point to Oregon as a model, saying it ''clearly works'' there. But the facts do not support that claim. More
 
"Now our intellectuals think the old and frail have a 'duty to die'" 
(Daily Mail, London, 9/22/08)  

"Baroness Warnock: Dementia sufferers may have a 'duty to die'" 
(Telegraph, London, 9/19/08)  

Supporter of failed Joffe bill calls for euthanasia without patient's consent 
(The Guardian, London, 6/8/06)  

"Lords block mercy killing bill" by Philippe Naughton (London Times, 5/12/06)
The House of Lords has defeated a bill, patterned on Oregon's assisted-suicide law, by a vote of 148 to 100. 

Care not Killing, an alliance of organizations formed to promote palliative care and oppose euthanasia, maintains an up to date web site with the latest information about developments in the United Kingdom. (2/06)

Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill.  Lord Joffe's assisted suicide measure modeled on Oregon's assisted suicide law.

Report published by House of Lords Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill.  The Bill in Outline, Ethical Principles, Practical Issues, Overseas Experience, Public Opinion & Conclusions. (Vol. I) (pdf file, 168 pages)

Evidence published by House of Lords Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill.  Testimony from Oregon, the Netherlands and others in preparation for consideration of the bill proposed by Lord Joffe.  (Vol. II)  (pdf file, 744 pages) 

British high court declares that doctor, not patient, must decide who receives food and water. 
"Doctors reverse historic right-to-life ruling"  (Times Online, 7/28/05)
"Man loses 'right to life' court battle"  (Guardian, 7/28/05)
Text of high court decision

"Dame Cicely Saunders:  The mother of modern hospice care passes on."  (Weekly Standard, 7/19/05)  

"BMA drops its opposition to doctor-assisted suicide" 
Lord Joffe, a long-time assisted-suicide advocate plans to reintroduce his assisted-suicide bill in British Parliament. (Times, London, 7/1/05) 

"The English Patient"
Leslie Burke is capable of making his own decisions.  He wants food and fluids, even if provided by tube. Britain's National Health Service says "no." (Weekly Standard, 5/30/05)

"Better for old to kill themselves than be a burden, says Warnock"  (London Sunday Times 12/12/04) Britain's leading medical ethics expert has suggested that the frail and elderly should consider suicide to stop them becoming a burden on their families or society.