BASW consults on Assisted Dying proposals
Legislation has been introduced in Scotland and Westminster, and organisations and individuals will be invited to make submissions of evidence as the legislation passes through the parliamentary stages.
Assisted dying, also known as doctor-assisted suicide, is when a person chooses to end their own life with the assistance of a physician to administer the drugs required to do so. When assisted dying happens in other countries, it is often because the person has a terminal physical illness, but this is not always the case. The proposed legislation in Westminster and Holyrood would only apply to those with a terminal physical illness who are not expected to live beyond 6 months.
A person is terminally ill if they have an advanced and progressive disease, illness or condition from which they are unable to recover and that can reasonably be expected to cause their premature death. Conditions that are lifelong but not fatal are considered chronic, not terminal, meaning mental health conditions or other disabilities would not be included under this legislation.
BASW has produced a briefing document available to download below.
Consultation Process
BASW will use the results from this survey to inform our submission of evidence on how assisted dying may impact social work, and the considerations that need to be made before any legislation is implemented.
All responses need to be received by BASW by 23:59 on Friday 25th October. This is so we have time to compile all the responses into one BASW response and be able to respond to the proposed legislation in a reasonable timeframe.
Any data you provide will not be shared beyond BASW staff who are working on this briefing. Any case studies we receive will be anonymised so that individuals cannot be identified. We will retain the responses to this survey for the duration of legislative processes on assisted dying.
Click the links below to access the surveys for social workers and experts by experience.
If you have any questions, please contact Kerri.Prince@basw.co.uk
