The Right to Be Allowed to Die – Self Induced Starvation and the Right to Die Without Undue Misery

Enactment of the Suicide Act in the United Kingdom in 1961 meant that it was no longer a criminal offense to take one’s own life. However, it is still a crime to aid & abet a suicide which creates a dilemma for physicians caring for terminal patients wishing to be allowed to die. Previously, the physician was acting to prevent the commission of a crime by intervention; now the question of aiding & abetting has to be considered if the patient is offerred an easy way to die. (NBB)