Where assisted dying is legal around the world

While assisted dying is illegal in the UK, there are some places on Earth that have been allowing it for some time.

Assisted dying has been quite a controversial topic for a while now, with just last year, the UK MPs voted on whether or not to pass a law allowing 'adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life'.

According to the BBC, it received 314 votes in favour to 291 and was passed to the House of Lords for further consideration, where it is currently in the committee stage.

A few people have spoken about their reasoning behind why they decided to end their lives, largely due to deteriorating illnesses, like this 25-year-old woman from Australia, who has a rare disease.

According to Dignity in Dying, a campaign group set on making people aware of the benefits of assisted dying in the UK, six countries allow the practice in cases of terminal illnesses or 'unbearable suffering' to occur, though their rules are pretty strict.

Assisted dying is legal in few countries (Getty Stock Images)

Where is assisted dying legal?

USA

Assisted dying is legal in some states in the US. According to the Dignity in Dying website, there are ten states and one federal district in America that allow the practice to happen for those who are terminally ill.

Oregon was the first state to pass a bill legalising assisted dying in 1997. Since then, it has been joined by California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

As for the requirements, in Oregon, the person wishing to seek assisted dying must be over 18, be mentally competent, and have a terminal illness that could result in death within 6 months.

They can also cancel their request at any point.

Australia

Assisted dying in Australia is known as Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD), which is legal in every state in Australia.

The practice allows a person who is terminally ill, over 18, and has a set time left to live to end their life as they choose, in one of their designated clinics.

However, according to the BBC, an extension for 12 months was given in cases of a neurodegenerative condition in certain parts of the country.

New Zealand

Assisted dying is legal in New Zealand and was actually passed by a public referendum in 2020 before becoming a chosen method of death in 2021.

Again, like the above, there is a set criterion which enables a person to die with assistance, which generally includes the person being terminally ill with a set amount of time left to live.

Some countries allow people to die if they are suffering but not terminal (Fourleaflover/ Getty Stock Images)

Europe

Nine countries in Europe allow people who have unbearable suffering access to assisted death, such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Austria, and Portugal.

Germany’s federal court ruled in 2020 that criminalising assisted dying was unconstitutional, and that legislators need to ‘ensure that sufficient space remains for the individual to exercise their right to a self-determined death and to pursue and carry out the decision to end their life on their own terms’.

While most countries require the person to be 18 or older, the Netherlands expanded the criteria to include minors in 2014.

Canada

Canada legalised assisted dying for those who are unbearably suffering in 2016 with the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) law, after the Supreme Court ruled in its favour.

According to the Canadian government, it can be carried out in one of two ways: the first one is: “A physician or nurse practitioner directly administers a substance that causes death, such as an injection of a drug. This is sometimes called clinician-administered medical assistance in dying.”

Meanwhile, the second would be: “A physician or nurse practitioner provides or prescribes a drug that the eligible person takes themselves, in order to bring about their own death. This is sometimes called self-administered medical assistance in dying.”

Central and South America

Three countries in Central and South America have allowed people experiencing unbearable suffering to access assisted dying, which are Colombia, Cuba, and Ecuador.

However, as above, there are always strict rules and criteria to follow to ensure the person is of sound mind, doesn’t face external pressures, and understands what it means.

As it stands currently in the UK, helping someone die by suicide is a crime in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which can carry a sentence in prison of up to 14 years.