As a result of Debbie’s victory, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was instructed to set out the factors he would take into account when deciding whether to prosecute a case where someone assists in the death of another.
© Andy Rain, Chief Photographer, EPA
The law in England and Wales
Assisted dying is illegal in England and Wales under the Suicide Act 1961, which makes it an offence to assist another person to die, punishable by up to 14 years of imprisonment.
The law on assisting someone to die was clarified in 2010 following Dignity in Dying campaigner Debbie Purdy’s successful legal case in the House of Lords. As a result of Debbie’s victory, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was instructed to set out the factors he would take into account when deciding whether to prosecute a case where someone assists in the death of another.
The DPP published his policy on prosecuting cases of assisted suicide in 2010. The policy makes clear that there is a distinction between compassionate acts to assist someone to end their own life at their request, which, is generally unlikely to be prosecuted, and malicious encouragement or assistance of suicide, which is likely to be prosecuted.
However, whilst the prosecuting policy on assisting someone to die gives people a much clearer indication of how they are likely to be treated under the law, the policy does not change the law or provide immunity from prosecution. Assisting a suicide is still a crime, and anybody who provides any form of assistance to another person to end their life is likely to face a police investigation and may face prosecution. What's more, the checks on whether 'the assister' is acting out of compassion or malice take place after the person has dies, when it is too late to intervene.
The policy also established that anyone acting “in his or her capacity as a medical doctor, nurse, [or] other healthcare professional” would be more likely to face prosecution. In practice, this means that any amateur assistance to die is less likely to be prosecuted than professional assistance. Dignity in Dying believes that this situation is untenable.
What about Scotland and Northern Ireland?
In Northern Ireland, the law on assisting someone to die is the same as the law in England and Wales. The Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland has also published a similar prosecuting policy for cases of assisting a suicide in Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, there is no specific crime of 'assisted suicide', but people who assist suicide may be liable for prosecution for the crime of culpable homicide. The Procurator Fiscal (the Scottish equivalent of the Director of Public Prosecutions), has stated that guidance similar to the prosecuting policy published following Debbie Purdy’s case would not be issued in Scotland.