单选题
Killing oneself has been legal in Britain since 1961, but it is a serious crime to help someone else to die. Anyone who "aids, assists, counsels or procures" a suicide out of compassion or something more sinister—risks up to 14 years in prison.
It is a risk that many are willing to take. About 120 Britons have committed suicide at Dignitas, a Zurich suicide clinic that takes advantage of liberal Swiss laws, and many have had relatives or friends with them for moral or practical support. None of these companions has been charged with a crime. But such cases are not unknown. Since April 2005, 16 people have been prosecuted for assisting suicide in England and Wales, and some of them have gone on to be convicted.
The uncertainty as to whether helpers will be prosecuted heaps agony on those who already face the appalling decision whether to end their lives. Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, asked prosecutors last year to clarify whether her husband would be charged if he went with her to Zurich. When they declined, she appealed to the House of Lords, which ruled in her favour in July. On September 23rd the director of public prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer, duly published guidelines to enlighten her and the thousands like her.
Mr Starmer listed 16 factors that would weigh in favour of prosecution and 13 against. Helpers are less likely to be prosecuted if they were close friends or relatives; if the person who died was severely ill physically; if he had a "settled" wish to die; and so on. Charges are more likely if the victim was under 18 or mentally ill, or if the suspect stood to gain from his death (though, campaigners note, this is often the case because helpers tend to be spouses or offspring). A British version of Dignitas is ruled out. serial assisters can expect to be prosecuted, as can members of groups whose main purpose is facilitating suicide.
One consequence of leaving the matter to lawyers, rather than getting a bill through Parliament, is that the guidelines are framed in broader terms than a new law would have been. Earlier this year Lord Falconer and others proposed an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill that would have legalised assisting suicide overseas in cases of terminal illness. It was voted down by peers who considered it dangerously radical. The new guidelines, though they do not make assisting suicide legal, apply at home as well as abroad and cover suicide by the seriously as welt as the terminally ill.
It remains to be seen whether the rules will satisfy the demand for reform or will trigger more change. It seems too important an issue for people not to have their say.