Currently within the UK, assisted dying is prevented by the many laws put in place, stated under section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961. While England, Northern Ireland and Wales have a criminal penalty facing up to 14 years in prison, Scotland does not and more recently, the topic of making assisted dying legal in the UK has been a mainstream topic. Not only could this possibly become legal within the UK, but it could also be the choice of life and death for many terminally ill individuals. Furthermore, the topic of assisted dying has also become a somewhat controversial topic to be spoken about as many have their views on this law which has been in place within the UK since 1961 and last reviewed by parliament in 2015 where there was a clear strong vote against assisted dying.

Within the countries of Switzerland, New Zealand and parts of the USA, assisted dying has been legalised, with a medical professional having to discuss whether assisted dying is the right option for them dependent on their situation. In most cases in these countries, the euthanasia of these patients is only applicable in a limited number of situations and never available just on request. This could be a strong reason as to why assisted dying is becoming a more talked about and debated topic as people who are severely ill and would rather go in this way have to meet a certain ‘criterion’ to be eligible for this process to go ahead.

In the recent days, MPs have voted in favour of legalising assisted dying. This would then allow for terminally ill patients with an expectation of six months left to live request end of life assistance. This could be life changing for the patients across the country that are suffering with the toughest terminally ill conditions as they can make a choice about their future. Although many see this as the beginning of assisted dying becoming legal, this vote was only one of the first stages, as further stages are to be completed before it may become a law.
This overturning of the current law could be seen as a new pathway for those terminally ill as they can make their own decisions- dependent on their circumstances-when they are coming to the end of their life's and make sure that they can be with their friends and families until they make their decision to pass on.This decision of possibly making assisted law legal could impact patients emotionally as it could create a collective pressure to make a choice between life and death among the terminally ill patients and could lead to the patients making the wrong decision about their end of life circumstances.