How should we describe ‘assisted dying’?

There is, I realise, no perfect, neutral way of describing ‘assisted dying’, the substance of Lord Falconer’s bill which comes up for its second reading on 18^th July. ‘Right to die’ is a bit tricky; dying is one of those rights that are thrust upon us without our even asking. It’s part of the human condition; just wait long enough, and it’s yours. And as Jenny McCartney eloquently makes clear in her piece on the subject, it’s actually assisted suicide — the assistance being provided by a doctor – or if you prefer, killing by request. As for the safeguards in the bill about it being limited to those with no more than six months to live and with the informed consent of the would-be suicide, I put precisely as much store by them as I do by all the provisions in the Abortion Act providing for the most serious cases only and with the written consent of two doctors… and we know how that turned out.