Getty ImagesFor the first time in almost a decade MPs are going to vote on giving terminally ill adults in England and Wales the right to have an assisted death. While it’s something that remains illegal in most countries, more than 300 million people now live in countries which have legalised assisted dying.Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Austria have all introduced assisted dying laws in the past decade, some allowing assisted death for those who are not terminally ill.The proposed bill in England and Wales comes with safeguards supporters say will make it the strictest set of rules in the world, with patients needing the approval of a High Court judge. Critics on the other hand say changing the law would be a dangerous step that would place the vulnerable at risk. They argue the focus should be on improving patchy access to palliative care.Ahead of Friday’s vote, we look at assisted dying laws in North America, Europe and Australasia.The USAcross the US, assisted dying – which some critics prefer to call assisted suicide – is legal in 10 states, as well as in Washington DC. Oregon was one of the first places in the world to offer help to die for some patients, in 1997, and so has more than 25 years’ experience. It has become the model on which other US assisted dying laws have been framed. In Oregon, assisted dying is open to terminally ill, mentally competent adults expected to die within six months – and must be signed off by two doctors. Since 1997, 4,274 people have received a prescription for a lethal dose of medication – with 2,847 (67%) deaths.Two thirds of patients in the state who asked for help to die last year had cancer. Around one in 10 had a neurological condition and about the same proportion had heart disease. Of the 367 patients who took a lethal dose of medication last year, the vast majority (91.6%) said loss of autonomy was a key concern, while others cited:Loss of dignity – 234 patients (63.8%)Losing control of bodily functions – 171 (46.6%)Concern about being a burden on family and friends – 159 (43.3%)Inadequate pain control – 126 (34.3%)Financial implications of treatment – 30 (8.2%)In Oregon, as in other US states that permit assisted dying, the lethal medication must be self-administered – the same is proposed in England and Wales. Around one in three of those prescribed a lethal dose don’t go ahead with it.Oregon is important f …
