I thought I would post some links to recent articles about a proposed change to the law in the UK which would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose to terminally ill patients judged to have less than six months to live.
The changes were debated in the UK House of Lords, and provoked a very mixed reaction. The debate itself was split, and whilst the proposed change to the law was approved for further discussion, the consensus was the change was unlikely to become law.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the debate was Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury (head of the Church of England) wrote in a UK newspaper that helping someone who is in great pain to die was in keeping with Christian belief. On the same day, the current Archbishop stated it would leave a 'sword of Damocles' hanging over the elderly, putting them under pressure to end their lives.
Is it any wonder that little progress is made over right-to-die legislation when there is so much division on the subject??? For the articles, see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28352680
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/18/assisted-dying-legalisation-debate-house-lords