If you would like to talk to someone about end-of-life choices, please contact one of our volunteer befrienders listed below.

Please help us by keeping to the times given.

We can be contacted at:

Friends at the End
11 Westbourne Gardens
GLASGOW
G12 9XD

Telephone & fax: 0141 334 3287
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For media enquiries, please contact our Press Officer.

To see other contacts, please click here.

If you would like to talk to someone about end-of-life choices, please contact one of our volunteer befrienders by clicking here.

Euthanasia of any kind is illegal in the UK. You must always seek appropriate professional legal and medical advice before acting on any information given on this website.

The views expressed in articles linked to from this website are the views of their respective authors and may not be that of Friends of the End.

Dignity in Dying [London] [formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES)]

World Federation of Right to Die Societies, including Newsletters from both the World Federation & Right to Die Europe

Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organisation (ERGO) [Oregon USA]

Association pour le Droit de Mourir dans la Dignité — Luxembourg (ADMD-L ), founded in 1988, a nonpolitical, nonreligious, but independent, humanitarian association working towards legislation on euthanasia & defending the individuals' right to decide about his end-of-life when suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement

Humanist Society of Scotland A secular voice in Scotland: non-religious funerals, weddings, affirmations, namings

MedicAlert, provide body-worn emblems engraved with personal details & medical information (such as the existence & location of a Living Will or Welfare Power of Attorney) & 24/7 back-up support for a yearly fee

Woodland burials at Craufurdland Woods (near Fenwick, south of Glasgow), who provide ecological rural plots & other arrangements for non-denominational, non-religious, or consecrated interment

Withholding & withdrawing life-prolonging treatments: Good practice in decision-making Guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC)

Irish Living Wills Trust, whose main purpose is to provide a Living Will, free of charge, to every adult throughout Ireland who wants one

Assisted-Suicide Blog Weblog of Derek Humphry, Founder of Hemlock Society

Society for Old Age Rational Suicide Presently, the main objective of SOARS is to begin a campaign to get the law eventually changed in the UK so that very elderly, mentally competent individuals, who are suffering unbearably from various health problems (although none of them is “terminal”) are allowed to receive a doctor’s assistance to die, if this is their persistent choice.

Think Humanism is an independent humanist forum that welcomes anyone interested in humanism, secularism and freethought

Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia
A growing group of Christians who believe that, as a demonstration of love and compassion, those with a terminal or hopeless illness should have the option of a pain-free, peaceful and dignified death with legal voluntary euthanasia. Support worldwide is most welcome.

Dying Matters is a broad based and inclusive national coalition that aims to change public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards death, dying and bereavement.

Items for Sale
(All prices include postage and packing)

Free Items

Withholding and withdrawing life-prolonging treatments booklet
Advice to carers re: your last wishes
Extended values history form
Do not resuscitate order form

To purchase these items or obtain free items, please apply to:
Friends at the End, 11 Westbourne Gardens, Glasgow G12 9XD, UK
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Orders will be processed as quickly as practicable in the light of demand.

• There can be no offence of being guilty art & part of suicide or attempted suicide for the reason that neither of these is in itself a crime, & yet...
• If the circumstances warrant it, attempted suicide may be prosecuted as a breach of the peace (hardly ever done).
• A person who assists another, whether in the form of giving advice or the provision of the means, might be criminally liable of recklessly endangering human life or of culpable homicide, not homicide, because of the absence of malice. (Stair Memorial Encyclopedia, Criminal Law)

• Decriminalised the act of suicide so that those who failed in the attempt would no longer be prosecuted.
• A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another or attempt by another, to commit suicide, shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.
• Created a new offence of complicity in suicide.
• Complicity in suicide — the effect is unparalleled because there is no other instance in which an accessory can incur liability when the principal does not commit a criminal offence.
• The situation with a conspiracy to assist suicide is unique: if an individual incapable of committing suicide for himself enlist the aid of a outside party, that party may be charged with conspiracy.

EUTHANASIA is a crime under all Jurisdictions in the United Kingdom, whatever the circumstances.

A LIVING WILL (Advance Directive) records what YOU want to be done if you become so ill or severely injured that you cannot speak for yourself. If you do not want to be subjected to medical treatments & interventions which might prolong your life but result in a quality of life you would find unacceptable, you can make a Living Will. There are many valid versions but all are formal documents which must be considered in depth & in detail. All need to be witnessed & dated & most encourage the nomination of a proxy to speak on your behalf if there is any doubt in your doctor's mind as to your wishes.

To download a Living Will, click here.

LIVING WILL PACK (SCOTLAND) containing a) Standard Living Will; b) Explanatory leaflet; c) Stickers; d) Extended Values History Form (if you wish to set out your wishes, preferences & attitudes to show how you want to be cared for either at home or in a 'home', the Form can be attached to your Living Will); e) Do Not Attempt Resuscitation form; f) Note about discussing your Living Will with your General Practitioner; g) Information about the Welfare Power of Attorney (Scotland); h) Example of Welfare Power of Attorney for use if your solicitor does not already have one. Free to Members, £5 to Non-Members.

LIVING WILL PACK (ENGLAND) as above except g) Information about Lasting Power of Attorney (Personal Welfare); h) How to obtain documents relating to g). A solicitor is not required, unlike Scotland. Free to Members, £5 to Non-Members.

MedicAlert, provide body-worn emblems engraved with personal details & medical information (such as the existence & location of a Living Will or Welfare Power of Attorney) & 24/7 back-up support for a yearly fee.

For a Transcript of Gordon Wylie's talk on Welfare Power of Attorney, click here.

Membership of FATE costs £15.00 per year Single or £20.00 per year Joint (two people at the same address).

To download a membership application form, please click here (Word) or here (pdf).

To download a Standing Order form, you can download a form here (Word) or here (pdf).

Death comes eventually to all of us, and most people want to be allowed to die quietly and easily. Unfortunately the dying process often means a lot of pain and distress to ourselves and those around us.

Our purposes:

• Campaign for a change in the law relating to assisted suicide and euthanasia.
• Promote knowledge about end of life choices and dignified death.
• Support carers and those suffering in pain and distress, especially at the end of life.
• To advance the education of health professionals in the field.
• To support research in this sphere.

We meet in Glasgow on a Saturday three times a year (and occasionally in London) with a variety of speakers, sometimes doctors, nurses, health care professionals, or speakers with a personal experience to relate. For our next meeting, click here. The gatherings are very friendly and relaxed, and question time is always lively. Non-members are always welcome.

Members receive our quarterly Newsletter, and non-members are welcome to request the latest copy.

A list of current Council Members can be found here.

Please remember FATE in your Will. You may not be able to assist us now, but a Bequest (large or small) in your Will can help us when it cannot help you. It takes lots of effort and money to influence legislation. For a sample Codicil to amend an existing Will, click here or here. Please feel free to contact us for guidance.

Welcome

Friends at the End is a members' democratic society, dedicated to promoting knowledge about end-of-life choices and dignified death.

Friends at the End is a member of both the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, which links 38 Right to Die Societies in 23 countries, and Right to Die Europe, the World Federation's European Division. Together, these serve globally those working for individual rights to self-determination at life's end.

Government Consultations and Petitions

Friends at the End will be responding to these Consultations, but members are urged to make individual responses.

Consultation on Margo MacDonald MSP Proposed Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill

The consultation can be found here. It is a:

Proposal for a Bill to enable a competent adult with a terminal illness or condition to request assistance to end their own life, and to decriminalise certain actions taken by others to provide such assistance.

Closing date: 30 April 2012

Note: To help you submit a response, we have created a Microsoft Word template to fill in electronically and a pdf template that can be printed out and filled in manually.

We urge all our supporters to submit a response — there will be no shortage of responses from those opposed to the Bill, so every contribution will make a difference. Even if you cannot answer all the questions, please respond to the ones you can. Even responding: "I fully support the intention of this proposed legislation" would be very helpful.

Additionally, you could write to your MSP (and send him/her a copy of your response) and contemplate 'popping-in' to the local surgery to discuss it face-to-face. Also note that responses to the consultation are welcomed from outside the UK.

Closed Consultations

Public Consultation on a Patients' Rights Bill for users of the NHS in Scotland Closed on 16 January 2009.

Proposed Palliative Care (Scotland) Bill Closed on 28 February 2009.

The Proposed End of Life Choices (Scotland) Bill Consultation Document The consultation by Margo MacDonald MSP for her proposed Bill. Closed on 9 March 2009.

The General Medical Council consulted on guidance for doctors on good practice in the care of patients nearing the end of life. Closed on 13 July 2009.

A public consultation on the DPP's interim policy for prosecutors on assisted suicide. Closed on 16 December 2009.

Press releases

04 April 2011 — The death of Nan Maitland

16 August 2010 — Bail commitments for Dr. Libby Wilson cancelled

05 July 2010 — Dr. Libby Wilson: Bail surrender deferred for fifth time

26 June 2010 — CPS decision not to prosecute Dr. Michael Irwin