‘My recent post on Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which seeks to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults and so modify the blanket ban provided by s. 2 of the Suicide Act 1961, has attracted some attention. There I raised questions as to the compatibility of the Bill with articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”), suggesting that extending assisted suicide only to terminally ill adults might be considered unlawfully discriminatory. I argued that there can therefore be no guarantees that the Bill would not have to expand in the future if the UK is to continue to adhere to its obligations under the ECHR. Alex Ruck Keene KC, who represented Noel Conway in his legal challenge to the UK’s blanket ban, has made a similar argument.’
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UK Constitutional Law Association, 19th November 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org