Frequently asked questions: The DPP?s prosecuting policy on assisted suicide

info@dignityindying.org.uk - 020 7479 7730

“As someone who helped her son to die when he could no longer face the suffering caused by Huntington's disease, I understand fully the need to have a safe, regulated right to die system that takes the pressure off family. After all, who would let their loved ones die alone?”Heather Pratten, Dignity in Dying Patron
“Having seen my father die, it became very clear to me that we as society need to grasp the nettle and deal with this contentious issue in a way that is humane and acceptable to the majority of right thinking people.”Matthew Wright, Dignity in Dying Patron
“I endorse the work of Dignity in Dying because I believe passionately that any individual should have the right to choose, as far as it is possible, the time and the conditions of their death. I think it's time we learned to be as good at dying as we are at living.”Sir Terry Pratchett, Dignity in Dying Patron
“I wish to be treated as a responsible adult and believe that people should be legally able to register their wish for an assistance with suicide, if needed. I support Dignity in Dying primarily to help change the law on assisted suicide.”Sir Michael Holroyd CBE, Dignity in Dying Patron
“My work as a cancer physician inevitably brought me into contact with dying people. I think that assisted dying is an important choice to be offered in the rare situations where doctors are unable to control unbearable symptoms.”Dr Lisa McDonald, Dignity in Dying Patron
“My brother John Close died with help from Dignitas in May 2003, aged 55. Motor Neurone Disease had robbed John of almost everything which defined him as human, but the knowledge that he would be in control of his death was a source of great comfort to both of us.”Lesley Close, Dignity in Dying Patron
“I believe that decisions about the timing and manner of death belong to the individual as a human right. I believe it is wrong to withhold medical methods of terminating life painlessly and swiftly when an individual has a rational and clear-minded sustained wish to end his or her life.”Professor A C Grayling, Dignity in Dying Patron
“I see it as almost inevitable, that society will become more understanding, and more sophisticated, about assisted dying. As with suicide, it is right to strive to find better options, but when the alternatives have run out it must surely be wrong for society to insist that people suffer.”Nick Ross, Dignity in Dying Patron
“My father, who was suffering from cancer and no longer wished to live, died as he chose: in peace and dignity, with my mother beside him. I passionately hope that, if I too were terminally ill, and was finding life unbearable, I could be allowed to die at a time of my choosing.”Rosemary Brown OBE, Dignity in Dying Patron
“I believe that the exercise of free will concerning the end of life, and the timing of the end of life, is an essential human freedom. I believe that while religious dogma may dictate or limit the choice of believers it should not be imposed on others.”Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh, Dignity in Dying Patron
“Having been a member of Dignity in Dying for thirty years I fully support the campaign to ensure that all people have, what they consider to be, a good death. The option of an assisted death at the end of life would provide the choice and control we all deserve.”Miriam Karlin OBE, Dignity in Dying Patron
“It is because we believe in the dignity and value of life that we hope for a good death. This is what Dignity in Dying hopes to permit and I passionately support its aims. To linger on against my will on a half-life is no life at all.”A.N Wilson, Dignity in Dying Patron
“As a doctor for over 35 years, I became increasingly aware of the failure of even the best care to deal with the suffering of some patients. The present clinical, ethical, and legal fudge - and a law which is discredited in practice - is dangerous for patients and also for professionals.”Professor Raymond Tallis, Dignity in Dying Patron
“I support Dignity in Dying because I care about suffering and want the law changed so that those who presently suffer terrible deaths will in future have the option to end their suffering through ending their lives at a time and in the manner of their choice.”Lord Joffe, Dignity in Dying Patron
“Being incapable of helping a loved one to die when they are at the end of their life, suffering and asking for help is undignified and wrong, and I know this having witnessed it myself at close hand.”Zoe Wannamaker, Dignity in Dying Patron
“As a child there existed in my mind a nagging fear about this thing called death. As I have become older, I want to give an assurance to the people I love that the circumstances of their death will be 'good', to be celebrated, and their final hours will be reflective of life well lived.”Jo Brand, Dignity in Dying Patron
“Over many years, I have become convinced of the need for a change in the law to protect people with terminal illness who have made the painful decision to seek help in dying. This is why, once I left government, I joined Dignity in Dying and will go on supporting their campaign until we succeed.”Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP, Dignity in Dying Patron
“My mother, Dr Anne Turner, chose to have an assisted death in 2006 at Dignitas in Zurich. Once my mother had been accepted for an assisted death, she was able to enjoy her life for the remaining time she had, greatly reassured that she would be spared further suffering.”Sophie Pandit, Dignity in Dying Patron
“My wife, Diane Pretty, had the terminal illness motor neurone disease and wanted to receive medical assistance to die with dignity. During the last weeks of her life, Diane was in considerable pain and distress. The very thing she'd fought through the courts to avoid.”Brian Pretty, Dignity in Dying Patron
“Knowing that most of us, it seems, want the freedom to choose when and how to end our lives so as to avoid, for ourselves and our families, the harrowing consequences of a messy, drawn-out and painful deaths, that choice must be enshrined in a framework of law.”Professor Eric Bolton CB, Dignity in Dying Patron

DPP's policy
on assisted suicide

On Thursday 25th February the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) issued the final version of his prosecuting policy on cases of 'Encouraging or Assisting Suicide'.

What does the policy mean?

The revised guidelines make clear that there is a distinction between compassionate acts to assist someone to end their own life which, subject to other factors, are unlikely to be prosecuted, and malicious encouragement or assistance of suicide which will be prosecuted.

This marks a significant step forward for the campaign. Our Chief Executive, Sarah Wootton, hailed the guidelines as a "victory for common sense and compassion".

However, whilst the guidelines give individuals much clearer indications of how they are likely to be treated under the law, they do not change the law, or provide immunity from prosecution. Assisting suicide is still a crime, and cases of 'mercy killing' where a person directly end the life of another person at their request will still be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter.

What does the policy say and how has it changed?

The final version of the prosecuting policy has changed from the interim version, but in the words of the DPP "the Policy has neither been relaxed nor tightened".

A prosecution is less likely if the assisted person made a voluntary, well informed decision to commit suicide, and if the assister was wholly motivated by compassion and if they had sought to dissuade the person from committing suicide.

A prosecution is more likely if the person committing suicide was under 18, if they did not have mental capacity or had not made a voluntary decision. A prosecution is also more likely if the assister has a history of violence or abuse towards the assisted person, if they assisted or encouraged several people's suicide, or are paid for their assistance.

The factors relating to the health and disability and to the relationship of the suspect to the person assisted (that the suspect was the partner, a relative or close friend) have been removed. However, prosecutions are more likely if the assisted person was physically able to undertake the act that constituted assistance and if the assister assisted or encouraged someone they did not know to commit suicide. This effectively recognises that assistance is more likely to be compassionately motivated when a person needs help to commit suicide, and when the assister knows the person they assist.

In another change, the policy instructs police and prosecutors to adopt a 'common sense' approach to the issue of financial gain. If it is shown that compassion was the only driving force behind the assister's actions, the fact that they may have 'gained' some benefit will not usually be treated as a factor in favour of prosecution.

Where does the policy apply?

The policy covers actions to assist suicide carried out in England and Wales, but the suicide could take place in England and Wales or in any other country.

What about Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The law in Northern Ireland on assisted suicide is the same as the law in England and Wales. The Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland has also launched the same policy for consultation in Northern Ireland. You can find out more about the consultation in Northern Ireland here: http://www.ppsni.gov.uk/default.aspx?CATID=139&CID=143.

The Scottish equivalent of the DPP, Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini QC, has said that similar guidance will not be issued in Scotland. There is no specific crime of 'assisted suicide' in Scotland, but people there who assist suicide may be liable for prosecution for the crime of culpable homicide.

What next?

The guidelines mark a significant step forward for the campaign. Whilst public policy now recognises that assistance from compassionate motives is acceptable in certain circumstances, it does not provide a safe means of assisted dying with checks and balances against abuse or coercion before someone has died rather than after. A change in the law to allow assisted dying subject to strict legal safeguards would give dying people real choice, and offer much greater protection to vulnerable people than the current law.

The reaction to the guidelines was broadly positive. It is significant that the guidelines were welcomed by groups opposing a change in the law, such as Care not Killing. This means that any attempts to reverse the guidelines in the future are almost certain to fail.

Dignity in Dying is committed to achieving a change in the law - as Sarah told the press: "Assisted dying legislation is something that society wants, that common sense demands - and those patients, families and loved ones facing tough choices deserve."

We'd like to thank all members and supporters who took the time to respond to the DPP's consultation on the interim version of the prosecuting policy - making your voice heard has played a crucial part in securing this important breakthrough for our campaign.