Assisted Dying Bill

The Problem of Predicting End of Life

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its second reading in the UK’s Houses of Commons. The Bill allows adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life and for connected purposes.

For the purposes of the Bill, a person is defined as terminally if -

1. the person has an inevitably progressive illness, disease or medical condition which cannot be reversed by treatment, and

2. (b) the person's death in consequence of that illness, disease or medical condition can reasonably be expected within 6 months.

We're only into point 2, and TTE already has a significant problem with the Bill.

First, when the Bill says expected in 6 months, what does that mean? Take, for example, Stage 4 lung cancer. Most have poor survival; 25% to 30% die in less than 3 months. Yet, of those surviving more than 3 months, 10% to 15% survive very long.

The first problem we encounter is the lack of a definition linked to death wi…