Health and Social Care committee publishes first written evidence in Assisted dying/assisted suicide inquiry

More than 250 submissions to the inquiry into Assisted dying/assisted suicide have been published today. In the first round of evidence to be made public, views of organisations and individuals give a mix of opinion on the Committee’s terms of reference for the inquiry. Evidence submissions have focused on various aspects of the terms of reference, including palliative care and assessments of capacity and informed consent, expressing views both in favour of and opposed to the consideration of a change to legislation in the UK.

The written evidence carries a warning that it contains details that people may find distressing.Further written evidence will be published. The Committee has planned a series of roundtable events with members of the public and healthcare professionals to gather further evidence with anonymised transcripts to be published in due course.

The views of people who contributed through the Committee’s online form have been also beenpublished and shared on social media. A fuller thematic analysis of the responses to the form will follow.

Further information 

On Tuesday 16 May, the Committee will hold the second evidence session in the inquiry, hearing from jurisdictions that have adopted some form of legislation on the subject.