NEWS AND COMMENT

Farewell to Lord Joffe

MDMD bids farewell to one of the pioneers in the battle to legalise assisted suicide in the UK.  Lord Joffe of Liddington, who died on 18 June 2017 at his…

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A Good (Assisted) Death in Canada

Canada legalised a limited form of assisted dying in 2016. A long article in the New York Times gives a detailed and inspiring account of John Shields who died by…

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Dementia sufferer plans to go to Lifecircle

The Mail on Sunday published a story about MDMD supporter Alex Pandolfo who suffers from Alzheimer's and is planning to end his life at Lifecircle in Switzerland. It is a…

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Suspended sentence for failed mercy killer

The BBC and the Guardian report the particularly tragic story of 95 year old Denver Beddows who admitted battering his 88-year-old wife Olive with a pan and a hammer at…

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MS Sufferer heading to Switzerland while he still can

Colin suffers from the Primary Progressive form of MS. He intends to go to Lifecircle in Basle to end his life on 15th June while he still can. He told…

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Avoiding Prolonged Dementia

Dementia is now the leading cause of death in England and Wales. How can we ensure we don't suffer from it for longer than we wish?

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New Legal Challenge on Assisted Dying

Today a new legal case to challenge the law on assisted dying is seeking financial backing. Please can you help! The law firm Bindmans are representing 'Omid' who was diagnosed…

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House Of Lords Debate on Assisted Dying

On 6th March 2017 the House of Lords held a short debate on Assisted Dying "To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent legislation on assisted…

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Senior judge ends his life after being diagnosed with dementia

Several news sources report the suicide of Sir Nicholas Wall, the former President of the Family Division, Britain’s most senior family law judge. The Daily Mail has some particularly interesting…

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Book Review: Rational Suicide in the Elderly

Rational Suicide in the Elderly: Clinical, Ethical, and Sociocultural Aspects by Robert E. McCue (Editor), Meera Balasubramaniam (Editor)

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Dementia sufferers ending their lives in Switzerland

Today the Mail on Sunday published an article about the father of an MDMD supporter who ended his life at Dignitas. Penny's father Ron Hall suffered from early stage dementia.…

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PRESS RELEASE: MDMD Response to Noel Conway’s legal challenge on Assisted Dying

Today MDMD issued the following press release: My Death, My Decision is pleased that, with support from Dignity in Dying, (DiD), Noel Conway, who is most unfortunately terminally ill with…

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Over 100 Minimally conscious patients

A BBC investigation attempted to find out how many minimally conscious patients were being kept alive in the UK. All the UK health authorities were asked,  but only about one…

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Ironically, the option of euthanasia can prolong life, and its quality.

A new BBC report has been published on Belgian paralympian Marieke Vervoort who has obtained papers authorising her euthanasia. She has suffered from a progressive, incurable spinal condition, for 16…

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MS sufferer Andrew Barclay ends his life at Dignitas

The Daily Mirror reports the story of Andrew Barclay who ended his life at Dignitas in Switzerland. It includes a clear and articulate video statement made by Andrew  shortly before…

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Why everyone should write an Advance Decision – the case of Paul Briggs

The case of Paul Briggs, reported in the Daily Telegraph and other papers, highlights why everyone should write an Advance Decision (AD) to refuse medical treatment in case they are…

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Dementia now leading cause of death

A BBC report highlights the latest statistics published by the ONS on causes of death. Dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), is now the leading cause of death, accounting for 11.6% of…

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Protecting Vulnerable People

We were interested to see an article on the Christian Institute website about MDMD, claiming that we "lobby for legal protections to be removed from vulnerable people". Nothing could be…

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How long do we really want to live for?

In an interesting BBC Website article, health correspondent Nick Triggle asks this important question. The article usefully differentiates between "life expectancy" and "healthy life expectancy". It points out that many…

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MDMD Website launched

Today MDMD formally launches its website. Following a press release and interviews, an article in the Sunday Times 9th October describes MDMD's main objectives under the headline "Non terminally ill…

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