New assisted suicide guidelines to give 'clear advice' to relatives

Director of public prosecutions says assisted suicide remains illegal and guidance will not mean immunity from legal action
Debbie Purdy manoeuvres her wheelchair outside the House of Lords in central London
Debbie Purdy outside the House of Lords in June. Photograph: Stephen Hird/Reuters

New guidelines on assisted suicide will not provide immunity from prosecution but will offer clear advice to the relatives of people wanting to kill themselves, the director of public prosecutions has said.

Keir Starmer QC outlined new guidance designed to help people know if they will face prosecution for helping someone kill themselves.

Starmer stressed that the guidelines did not mean assisted suicide had been made legal.

"There are no guarantees against prosecution ... it is my job to ensure that the most vulnerable people are protected, while at the same time giving enough information to those people like [Debbie] Purdy who want to be able to make informed decisions about what actions they may choose to take," he said.

"Assisting suicide has been a criminal offence for nearly 50 years and my interim policy does nothing to change that."

Although it is illegal to help someone kill themselves, nobody has so far been prosecuted for helping a person travel abroad to do so.

The move comes after a law lords ruling that Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, has the right to know whether her husband, Omar Puente, will be prosecuted if he helps her travel abroad to die.

The ruling backed her call for a clear policy statement on the risk of prosecution.

The guidelines issued outline 16 factors likely to result in prosecution and 13 that would help prevent legal action.

Prosecution is more likely if the person who died was under 18, had a mental illness or was not acting on their own initiative, the guidelines say.

If the person was maliciously encouraged to commit suicide, did not have an incurable illness or physical disability, or had previously demonstrated indecision about wanting to commit suicide, their helper would be more likely to face prosecution.

Prosecutors would have to be satisfied the person aiding the suicide was wholly motivated by compassion and that they, or anyone close to them, had nothing to gain from the death.

Cases less likely to be prosecuted include those where the person had a clear and expressed wish to commit suicide, was suffering from an incurable disease, and where the helper was motivated by compassion and was a partner, family member or close friend.

Starmer said each case had to be considered on its facts and merits.

"I also want to make it perfectly clear that this policy does not, in any way, permit euthanasia," he said.

"The taking of life by another person is murder or manslaughter, which are among the most serious criminal offences.


"I want to hear those views, and that is why I have also launched a public consultation ... By considering as many views as possible, I can produce a final policy which is faithful to both the law and public feeling."

Purdy said she was relieved at the outcome. "I, and many others like me, want to be able to make informed decisions about the time and manner of our deaths should our suffering become unbearable," she said.

"Today, and thanks to the law lords and the director of public prosecutions, we can make these decisions in the knowledge of what the likely consequences will be."

Purdy said the judiciary had shown "courage" to tackle issues surrounding assisted suicide despite politicians being "terrified of taking up the issue".

Sarah Wootton, the chief executive of Dignity in Dying, which supported Purdy's case, said the new guidelines "sensibly distinguished between compassionate behaviour and behaviour that was arguably malicious.

"A law made in the 20th century has been clarified for the 21st," she said. "Society has moved on."

It was unlikely that the guidelines would clear the way for Swiss Dignitas-style clinics to be set up in the UK, Starmer said.

"For so long as parliament retains the offence of assisted suicide in its current form, it is not appropriate for a prosecutor to indicate that somebody can provide an ongoing service or business to assist suicide – because it is unlawful to do so," he said.

Of the estimated 117 cases of assisted suicide abroad so far investigated, none has resulted in prosecution. Assisting suicide carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

There will be a 12-week consultation on the new guidelines, which will come into effect immediately.

The finalised policy will be announced next spring.

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