Why won’t supporters of assisted dying use the ‘s-word’?

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP in charge of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill currently going through its committee stage, has repeatedly called on Tory MP Danny Kruger not to use the term ‘suicide’ in relation to proposed new laws on assisted dying. This is not the first time proponents of assisted suicide have tried to distance themselves from the ‘s-word’. But just this week, Kruger once again had to reiterate in parliament why clarity of language is so important in this debate.

The dictionary defines suicide as ‘the act or an instance of ending one’s own life intentionally and voluntarily’. Throughout medical school, doctors learn the definitions, assessments, causes, and the various forms this can take, ranging from jumping off high buildings to taking massive medication overdoses. Suicide in people who have a terminal illness happens, rarely, and often around the time of learning the diagnosis, even before disease-modifying treatments have begun.