New guidance has been published to clarify the assisted suicide law in England and Wales. Many rejoiced with Debbie Purdy at the ruling that forced the publication of the guidance, following several failed attempts with the High Court and Court of Appeal. The guidance, published by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), details the circumstances under which individuals may be prosecuted for assisting in a suicide. However, it gives no guarantees of protection from prosecution and represents no change in the law.
Current assisted suicide legislation allows the DPP discretion when considering cases, but does not itself give direction over how that discretion should be exercised. In the new guidance, factors that weigh against a prosecution include the individual committing suicide having a 'clear, settled and informed wish' to do so and the individual helping them being 'wholly motivated by compassion'. Factors in favour of prosecution include the individual committing suicide being under 18 years old and having an impaired capacity to make informed decisions.
Lord Falconer said that the DPP had 'unquestionably changed the law' in issuing the guidance, but Dignity in Dying insisted that Parliament should still legislate. Both sides of the argument consider this a major stepping stone in the 'right-to-die' debate; 'right-to-life' groups have claimed that the DPP has exceeded his authority and effectively made it legal to assist suicide whilst others are hailing it a 'significant breakthrough' for patient choice. The current guidance is temporary and will be finalised following public consultation in Spring 2010; whether assisted suicide should be legalised is still hotly debated.
The Care Not Killing Alliance has published a response to the guidance, noting that the guidelines mark a 'shift in gravity' away from prosecuting in all cases unless there are clear public interest reasons not to. The Alliance also described the guidelines covering disabled people as 'discriminatory as well as dangerous'.
(telegraph.co.uk 2009; 31 July, bbc.co.uk 2009; 30 July, ibid 2009; 23 September, timesonline.co.uk 2009; 24 September, carenotkilling.org.uk 2009; 13 November)
