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Assisted dying is a much-debated topic around the globe. What do the people of England think?

Some form of assisted dying is legal in 27 jurisdictions around the world, but it is not yet permitted in England or in any other UK nations. Though the topic is debated in Parliament and has been the subject of media coverage and public campaigns, there remains a need for more in-depth information about how the UK public perceives this complex ethical, legal, and emotional issue.

To explore public views on assisted dying in England, the Nuffield Council for Bioethics assembled a Citizens’ Jury, broadly representative of the English population, to consider the complexities of the topic.

Over the course of six meetings held between April and June 2024, the thirty members of the English public received a series of comprehensive, balanced, and accessible information, including presentations from expert witnesses and individuals with lived experience related to assisted dying to consider the following questions:

1. Should the law in England be changed to permit assisted dying?

2. What are the most important reasons in favour of permitting assisted dying?

3. What are the most important reasons against permitting assisted dying?

In this event at the Intellectual Forum, Clare Chambers and Molly Gray from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics will discuss the initial report on the top recommendations from the Jury.

About the speakers

Clare Chambers is Professor of Political Philosophy and a Fellow of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú. She is a Council member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the UK’s leading independent body informing policy and public debate about the ethical questions surrounding medical and biological innovations and research. Prof Chambers is also the author of several books including Intact: A Defence of the Unmodified Body (Penguin, 2022); Freedom & Equality: Essays on Liberalism and Feminism (OUP, 2024) and the prize-winning Against Marriage: An Egalitarian Defence of the Marriage-Free State (OUP, 2017).

Molly Gray joined the Executive Team of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in November 2020. As part of the research and policy team, she oversees specific projects related to the NCOB’s work and is currently managing a project looking at the public views on assisted dying in England. Prior to this, Molly was a Researcher, Bioethics and Policy at the NCOB. Before joining the team, she worked in both NHS clinical research and academic research in the field of translational breast cancer at Imperial College London.

"'It comes to us all': Death and dying" series

This event is part of an ongoing series on Death and Dying taking place at the Intellectual Forum in October and November. Find out more about the series.