England legalizes assisted suicide — former prime minister says government abuse will be prevented



Members of Parliament have voted to pass legislation that makes assisted suicide legal in England and Wales.

The new legislation will allow for the death of those in the two countries who are over the age of 18 and are registered with a general practitioner for at least 12 months.

The bill passed with a vote of 330 to 275 and will allow patients to expect to be killed within six months of their request.

'As a religious person, I understand and appreciate the deep moral and philosophical concerns that many people have about this issue.'

Other parameters, the BBC reported, included making sure the patient has the mental capacity to make the decision in a clear, settled, and informed manner that is free from coercion.

Two separate declarations must be made by the patient, with two "independent doctors" declaring the patient is eligible at least seven days apart.

Additionally, a High Court judge would have to rule each time a person makes a request to die, after which the patient has to wait another 14 days after the ruling to reflect on whether they want the government to kill them.

A doctor would reportedly prepare a substance that would kill the patient, but the patient has to ingest the substance themselves.

Conservative former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote in the Darlington and Stockton Times that he agrees with the decision and voted in favor of it.

The "bill is sufficiently tightly drawn to prevent" abuse of the law by the government, Sunak wrote. "Pressuring someone into ending their life will be a criminal offence."

He added, "As a religious person, I understand and appreciate the deep moral and philosophical concerns that many people have about this issue."

Blaze News previously reported on the rise of government-assisted suicide across the world.

In the United States, euthanasia was first made legal in Oregon in 1997. California, Vermont, and Washington have also approved the death method, but it is not federally legalized.

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ecuador, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland have all legalized assisted suicide. Switzerland has made headlines as of late due to an ongoing debate and investigation surrounding the use of suicide pods in the country.

In the Netherlands, assisted suicide is allowed for terminally ill children ages 1-12. Those who are 5-10 years old can be killed if they are determined to be suffering unbearably or have no hope of improvement.

“The end of life for this group is the only reasonable alternative to the child’s unbearable and hopeless suffering,” the government said in 2023, per the Guardian.

Canada, which boasts a robust suicide system, paused its program for those who are mentally ill in February 2024. In August, state-facilitated suicide was the leading cause of death in Canada.

In November 2011, Russia passed a law banning euthanasia, making it the only country in the world in which all forms of euthanasia are illegal.

As for the English and Welsh legislation, it will be illegal to use dishonesty, pressure, or coercion to encourage someone to end their life, with a 14-year prison sentence for those found guilty of doing so. It is unclear how that would be determined.

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Eat the bugs and die in the pods: Swiss assisted death pod sparks outrage



Multiple arrests have been made after a 64-year-old American woman became the first person to use an actual suicide pod in Switzerland. This suicide pod is called the Sarco and has been in development since 2017. At that time, its inventor coined himself the “Elon Musk of Assisted Suicide.”

Dr. Philip Nitschke told Newsweek that he has been drawn to the world of euthanasia since he was a young medical school graduate in Australia, inspired by the work of euthanasia enthusiast Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

The Netherlands also became the first government to legalize euthanasia nationally (under strict conditions at the time) in 2002. However, the first country to allow children to kill themselves was Belgium in 2014.

Before the Sarco, Nitschke was already hard at work making suicide machine prototypes and successfully killing people with them. His first machine was a laptop hooked up to an intravenous system. The computer would ask a patient if the patient wanted to die and then trigger a lethal injection of barbiturates or depressants.

This death machine was used to kill four people in Australia from 1996 to 1997, a brief period when euthanasia was legalized in the country before it was struck down. It was made legal again in 2022. Nitschke, then 70, admitted that his work surrounding how to best help people die has taken some time.

"I've spent the last 20 years fighting for the legislation that just passed," he said at the time.

He noted he had aided hundreds of "rational suicides" over the years and even published a book in 2006 describing the most painless and efficient ways to commit suicide.

All of this spawned the Sarco.

JAN HENNOP/AFP via Getty Images

What is it?

The Sarco was introduced in 2021 when suicide capsules were legalized in Switzerland. With the help of Dutch designer Alexander Bannink, Nitschke managed to get the capsules through a legal review of authorized forms of assisted suicide. The doctor boasted of the freedom of killing oneself without government bureaucracy.

"The benefit for the person who uses it is that they don't have to get any permission, they don't need some special doctor to try and get a needle in, and they don't need to get difficult drugs to obtain," Nitschke said, per Business Insider.

After their legal victory, the 3D-printed device was touted as a portable option that could be towed wherever the user wanted to die.

In 2020, approximately 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in Switzerland.

YouTube took down a demonstration of the machine for violating community guidelines; however, it chiefly involved using virtual reality goggles to show users what it would be like to be suffocated by gas in a picturesque setting ... to utilizing its viewing window.

“An idyllic outdoor setting or in the premises of an assisted-suicide organization” are the perfect situations, Nitschke said.

The user must pass a mental capacity test and be asked several questions before activating the machine. They are then prompted with a button that will bring oxygen levels dangerously low, after which the vessel fills with nitrogen gas until death.

As any scientist in his position would state, Nitschke said suicide pod lovers will feel “no panic” and “no choking feeling” but instead become “a little disoriented” and “slightly euphoric.”

Who makes it?

Designer Bannink of the Sarco doesn’t appear to mention his suicide pod designs on his website or portfolio, opting to display underwater car drawings and flamboyant bikes.

He does, however, cite his design philosophy as the following:

“Any company can make ‘good’ products! So the way to distinguish yourself as a brand is to do it smarter or more beautiful than others.”

The company behind the recent suicide pod usage is a firm called the Last Resort. The company commented on the matter, saying, “On Monday 23 September, at approximately 16.01 CEST, a 64-year old woman from the the mid-west in the USA died using the Sarco device.”

Co-president of the organization Florian Willet called the woman's death “peaceful, fast and dignified.” She added that it occurred under “a canopy of trees, at a private forest retreat.”

The Last Resort refers to itself as a “new human rights organization” that offers a drug-free means of “elective, peaceful & dignified death.”

“A good death is a fundamental human right,” the company says, noting that it offers free services to approved patients.

The pod is 3D-printed and costs vary depending on the manufacturer.

Exit International, which helped develop the Sarco, estimated costs at around $19,000 per unit.

Is it legal?

JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images

The first use of the Sarco came on the same day Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told the Swiss National Council that she considers the use of the Sarco to be illegal.

“The Sarco suicide capsule is not legal in two respects. ... On one hand, it does not fulfill the demands of the product safety law, and as such, must not be brought into circulation.”

“On the other hand,” she continued. “The corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the article on purpose in the chemicals law.”

At the same time, the Last Resort cites on its website that Switzerland is actually “one of the few countries” in which helping someone kill themselves “is not a crime. “

The Daily Mail reported however that Swiss law indicates that a person can receive assisted suicide so long as the person takes their life without “external assistance” while those who help the person die cannot do so for any “self-serving motive.”

This is likely why Last Resort offers its program for free.

The Last Resort said its program exists within the law and does not require specific approval due to the fact that the user is the one who presses the button to end their own life. It also cites that the user proves they are of sound mental capacity.

Stateside, euthanasia was first made legal in Oregon in 1997. This was followed by approval in California, Vermont, and Washington, but it is not federally legalized.

Internationally, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ecuador, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and of course Switzerland have all legalized assisted suicide.

Russia is the only country in which all forms of euthanasia are illegal, as of November 2011.

In the Netherlands, where the suicide-pod designer is from, assisted suicide eligibility extends to infants as well. If aged 1-12, terminally ill children can be killed by the state. Those who are 5-10 can be killed if they are suffering unbearably or have no hope of improvement.

“The end of life for this group is the only reasonable alternative to the child’s unbearable and hopeless suffering,” the government said in 2023, per the Guardian.

The Netherlands also became the first government to legalize euthanasia nationally (under strict conditions at the time) in 2002. However, the first country to allow children to kill themselves was Belgium in 2014.

Canada, which boasts a robust suicide system, paused its program for those who are mentally ill.

The country’s requirements are rather loose overall, allowing those with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other survivable illnesses to use the country’s Medical Assistance in Dying program.

Are people using it?

Unfortunately, the trend of euthanasia is becoming more popular in places like Switzerland, where the suicide pods are currently available. In 2020, approximately 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in the country.

The Last Resort reported it had 120 applicants waiting to use its machine to end their lives; about 25% of those people were British. This included a married couple that wanted to be the first to use a double suicide pod.

The Netherlands said that only one person between 12-16 used government suicides in 2022 while it is estimated that the country’s new age rules would apply to about 5-10 children per year.

Sadly, euthanasia became the fifth-highest cause of death in Canada during the summer of 2024. According to a report, it is evidence that medical professionals in Canada “are not viewing MAiD as an option of last resort only."

With ages being lowered and allowable reasons for euthanasia being widened, societies are not far from the suicide booths portrayed in the cartoon “Futurama,” it seems.

In fact, the only aspect of reality the cartoon appeared to get wrong is that it would actually cost money to be euthanized.

Swiss suicide pod’s debut turns darker: Doctor raises murder suspicion over victim’s neck injuries



The death of a 64-year-old woman is under criminal investigation as Swiss prosecutors determine whether or not the death was an intentional homicide despite being first thought to be assisted suicide.

The American mother of two, who has not been named, was initially thought to have died inside a capsule called the Sarco in Merishausen, Switzerland, in late September.

Now, a Swiss prosecutor is alleging the woman may have been strangled in an "intentional homicide." A forensic doctor also testified that the woman had, among other things, severe neck injuries.

The Sarco device is a suicide pod meant to allow users to push a button to inject nitrogen gas into the chamber, causing death by suffocation.

The company behind the pod is a firm called the Last Resort. The company commented on the matter, saying, “On Monday 23 September, at approximately 16.01 CEST, a 64-year old woman from the mid-west in the USA died using the Sarco device.”

Co-president of the organization Florian Willet called the woman's death “peaceful, fast and dignified.” He added that it occurred under “a canopy of trees, at a private forest retreat.”

According to LBC, Willet was the only person physically present when the woman died, with Sarco inventor Philip Nitschke reportedly following the process via video call. However, he allegedly did not see the entire process due to technical difficulties.

Willet has been in custody for weeks since the woman's death, originally because the pod is illegal. At the time, Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told the Swiss parliament that the use of the Sarco was not legal.

Fiona Stewart, member of the advisory board and COO of the Last ResortPhoto by ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images

'She's still alive, Philip.'

The Last Resort has said its program is legal, however, and does not require specific approval because the user presses the button. The company also states that the user must prove sound mental capacity before the act is carried out.

The woman who allegedly took her own life with the machine reportedly did so because of a bone marrow infection.

However, when Willet spoke to Nitschke over the video call, he reportedly told the inventor, "She's still alive, Philip."

The comment reportedly came six and a half minutes after the user pressed the button in the machine.

The court also allegedly heard that Willet was continuously leaning over the Sarco to look inside and was confused by an alarm that may have been a heart-rate monitor.

An unspecified number of people were arrested following the woman's death, likely from the Last Resort company. However, all have since been released except for Willet.

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Parents sue after Catholic hospital in Canada refused to kill their terminally ill daughter



A Canadian couple is now suing a province and two health authorities after a Catholic hospital refused to euthanize their daughter who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Sam O’Neill, an avid runner and devoted vegan, was diagnosed with stage-4 cervical cancer in early 2022. The cancer was so aggressive that it eventually spread to her spine, breaking at least one vertebra. She also suffered from recurrent kidney infections and osteoporosis.

'You’re being told what you’re requesting is sinful.'

A year later, Sam's health continued to deteriorate. She was then admitted to St. Paul's Hospital, a publicly funded Catholic facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, owned by Providence Health Care, a Catholic medical organization. In spring of 2023, Sam requested — and was granted — assisted suicide services called medical assistance in dying, or MAiD.

Though MAiD has been the law of the land in Canada since 2016, the law provides exemptions for faith-based institutions like St. Paul's, which, in keeping with Catholic doctrine, does not kill its patients, even those with terminal illnesses. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is unequivocal about the evil nature of intentional euthanasia, calling it "murder," regardless of its "forms or motives."

Even with that strict prohibition, St. John Hospice, which is also owned by Providence Health, does kill patients in accordance with civil law. St. Paul's agreed to transfer Sam to St. John, which soon afterward did kill Sam. She was just 34 years old.

On Monday, Gaye O'Neill, Sam's mother and the administrator of her estate, filed a lawsuit against British Columbia through its minister of health, Providence Health, and regional public health authority Vancouver Coastal Health, claiming that the defendants had forced her daughter to endure added pain and suffering because St. Paul's refused to kill her upon demand.

"The circumstances surrounding the forced transfer and Ms. O’Neill’s access to MAID caused and exacerbated Ms. O’Neill’s egregious physical and psychological suffering, and denied her a dignified death," it said.

Gaye O'Neill also went into great detail about her final conversation with her daughter, which apparently took place in a bathroom shortly before Sam's transfer to the hospice.

"We were allowed to say a quick goodbye, so I said to her, 'Sam, I’m so sorry this is happening to you.' And she said, 'Well, it is what it is,'" Gaye recalled.

The family exchanged "I love yous" before Sam was given pain killers and sedatives to ease her journey to St. John. Sam's father, Jim O'Neill, accompanied her in the ambulance.

"It was really, really hard," he said. "You watch her writhing and moaning in pain, not conscious and she’s not going to be conscious ever again."

Jim O'Neill described the experience as "horrendous" and "cruel."

Moreover, the O'Neills claim, Sam never chose to go to St. Paul's in the first place. By refusing to perform MAiD, St. Paul's "violated [Sam's] choice of religion," Gaye claimed.

"They can’t go on hurting people."

In addition to Gaye O'Neill, the lawsuit has two other plaintiffs who seem to have animus against a Catholic hospital for abiding by Catholic teaching. One of the plaintiffs is an organization called Dying with Dignity Canada. Its vice chairwoman, Daphne Gilbert, a University of Ottawa law professor, accused faith-based hospitals of attempting to "stigmatize" the practice of assisted suicide and those who request it.

"You’re being told what you’re requesting is sinful," she said.

Dr. Jyothi Jayaraman, a so-called palliative care physician and coplaintiff, also took issue with a hospital following its founding Christian precepts. "[Canadian Charter law] allows me freedom of religion, which also means that nobody else’s religious beliefs should be imposed on me," she insisted. "I think that is what’s happening, that Providence Health’s religious beliefs are imposed on me in such a way that I can no longer provide care in a medically appropriate and ethical way."

In a statement to Global News, Providence Health reaffirmed the organization's commitment to Catholic teaching and to refusing MAiD practices. However, it claims that it works with Vancouver Coastal Health facilities willing to perform them. "If there are issues or concerns with transfers, the two organizations work to improve the transfer processes wherever possible," Providence Health said.

Health Minister Adrian Dix gave a statement as well: "MAID is a legal end-of-life choice. In British Columbia, it’s strictly regulated, but it’s a legal end-of-life choice. And it’s our job to ensure that people have access to MAID in our province."

In an email to Blaze News, Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition noted that "Sam O’Neill was not denied MAiD," and indeed, received MAiD services at an alternate facility. He also suggested the only crime St. Paul's committed was "refusing to kill their patients."

Finally, he slammed the lawsuit as little more than thinly veiled political activism. "Dying with Dignity, Canada’s leading euthanasia lobby group, is committed to forcing every medical institution to provide euthanasia," he told Blaze News. "Dying with Dignity will not accept any dissent from their demand that all medical institutions must provide euthanasia."

"This story is about using the death of Sam in order to force all medical institutions, including religiously affiliated medical institutions, into providing euthanasia."

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19 more states are considering assisted suicide legislation



Nearly 20 states are debating legislation related to assisted suicide, as the topic continues to permeate through the United States and abroad.

Currently, nine states have made it legal to get medically assisted suicide from the government, while a 2009 Montana Supreme Court ruling declared that it would not be against public policy or be illegal.

California, Colorado, D.C., Hawaii, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont all have laws on the books permitting euthanasia.

According to Axios, 19 states have pending legislation, including Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, and more.

In Virginia, for example, a bill was passed to allow those with terminal illnesses to request a "self-administered controlled substance" to end their lives, the Daily Caller reported.

Virginia Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton wrote a letter in support of the legislation, as she suffers from progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative disease.

"There are [thousands of Virginians] dealing with terminal illnesses facing unthinkable challenges and choices because of these devastating health conditions," she wrote. "That is why this legislation is so critical. It is a vital step allowing Virginians to gain the dignity, freedom, and peace of mind we deserve in the face of a tragic terminal illness like mine."

Similarly in New York, the state hopes to pass legislation after obtaining support from the New York State Bar Association for the first time, along with a push from Democratic politicians.

"We have momentum like we haven't seen since the bill was first introduced close to a decade ago," said Democrat state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

The Arizona bill would allow patients to request that doctors withhold "food and liquids" from them.

"An adult may prepare a written statement known as a living will to control the health care treatment decisions that can be made on that person's behalf, including:

1.Hospice care.
2. The use of medications for the management of pain and suffering.
3. How and under what circumstances the ingestion of food and liquids may be limited or discontinued," the bill states.

Euthanasia was first made legal in Oregon in 1997, followed by California, Vermont, and Washington state.

Internationally, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland have legalized physician-assisted suicide. Colombia, Italy, and Germany have also legalized it but have no formal procedures yet.

In Canada, the government recently paused assisted suicide for the mentally ill. The service is still available for those over 18 years old.

In the Netherlands, assisted suicide eligibility extends to 12-year-old children.

"Minors may themselves request euthanasia from the age of 12, although the consent of the parents or guardian is mandatory until they reach the age of 16," a government website explained. "Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds do not need parental consent in principle, but their parents must be involved in the decision-making process.

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'Tragic terminal illness'

'This will be my last tweet': Dutch woman posts sarcastic meme before assisted suicide for 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'



A woman from the Netherlands posted a sarcastic meme about getting medically-assisted suicide from her government before her estate eventually published a press release asking for acknowledgement for living sufferers.

Lauren Hoeve, a 28-year-old from the Netherlands, described herself as a "stay-at-home cat parent. Ex-YouTuber and book blogger" on her still-active X account.

"This will be my last tweet. Thanks for the love, everyone. I’m going to rest a bit more and be with my loved ones. Enjoy a last morbid meme from me," Hoeve wrote.

About a week later, the woman's parents posted a press release about their daughter's passing.

"Lauren passed away peacefully ... she requested euthanasia after years of unbearable suffering caused by severe myalgic encephalomyelitis," the statement began. "Lauren believed that our attention should be on the living. Millions of people are affected [by the disease] with no established treatment pathways and no cure."

"Why is their suffering acknowledged enough for euthanasia but not enough to fund clinical research?" the parents added.

This will be my last tweet. Thanks for the love, everyone. I\u2019m going to rest a bit more and be with my loved ones. Enjoy a last morbid meme from me. \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\ude0e\ud83d\udc4d
— (@)

Hoeve's assisted suicide was highly publicized before it took place, a post on X linking to an article about her medical process reached over 655,000 viewers.

The article from RTL featured a photoshoot, her plans before death, and claims that Hoeve also had autism and ADHD.

"Choosing euthanasia feels like the nicest thing I can do for myself," Hoeve told the outlet.

Unlike Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying program, which is only available for those over 18, the Netherlands' assisted suicide eligibility extends to 12-year-old children.

"Minors may themselves request euthanasia from the age of 12, although the consent of the parents or guardian is mandatory until they reach the age of 16," a government website explained. "Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds do not need parental consent in principle, but their parents must be involved in the decision-making process.

In August 2018, a 29-year-old woman also received help from the Dutch government to kill herself. As the BBC reported, Aurelia Brouwers was given poison to drink by a doctor — from which she soon died — because she had self-described mental health issues.

"I'm 29 years old and I've chosen to be voluntarily euthanised. I've chosen this because I have a lot of mental health issues. I suffer unbearably and hopelessly. Every breath I take is torture," the woman stated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome carries symptoms such as difficulty thinking, problems sleeping, sore throat, headaches, feeling dizzy, or severe tiredness.

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