Continued good practice will radically improve our end of life care End-of-life care on the NHS has been under renewed scrutiny recently, and rightly so. As all of us face the end of life, so we want to know what lies ahead and how we can best manage our own dying.

Why I changed my mind on assisted dying As a doctor I used to think palliative care was the answer. Now I realise that keeping people alive can be unspeakably cruel.

85 per cent support voluntary euthanasia Support for voluntary euthanasia is on the increase in Australia, with a new survey showing 85 per cent of the country is in favour of it.

Liverpool Pathway protects dignity of the dying When properly used, the Liverpool Care Pathway does not hasten death, writes Tom Hughes-Hallett, the Chief Executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Poles support euthanasia According to 48% of Polish society, the doctors should fulfil the will of suffering, incurable patients who want to end their life.

Ottawa can't ignore euthanasia debate forever As end-of-life directives go, mine is pretty simple. If incapacitated or enduring intense suffering caused by a hopelessly terminal condition, my will orders the plug pulled quickly and sets aside a pile of cash for one hell of a wake in my favourite pub.

Dutch not giving in to UN Human Rights Committee The Dutch government will not give in to the call from the UN Human Rights Committee (see newsitem from August 13, 2009) to accentuate, let alone change the Dutch Euthanasia Law, according to a letter to the Parliament from Dutch minister of Justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin.

EuthaNEWSia The EuthaNEWSia Internet news service EuthaNEWSia is a free news advisory service covering end-of-life issues such as euthanasia, right-to-die, assisted suicide, and self-deliverance. Subscribing is free and easy: see the Subscribe page. You have your choice of email, the news feed, or reading it right from this page.

Assisted suicide: The cases for and against The law on assisted suicide has been clarified but it still splits opinion. Here, representatives of the Care Not Killing Alliance and Dignity in Dying go head to head.

In praise of… Keir Starmer The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has been in the job for only a year: his controversial speech on Wednesday night marked his first anniversary in a role that he came to with a reputation as an outstanding human rights lawyer.

British Parliament to Vote on Amendment Monday to Allow Assisted Suicide Tourism Members of the House of Lords are expected to vote again on Monday on an amendment that would promote assisted suicide. The vote comes after the July defeat of another amendment that would have made it easier for Britons to engage in assisted suicide.

Third of doctors act to shorten lives of dying Around a third of doctors say they have given drugs to terminally ill patients or withdrawn treatment, knowing or intending that it would shorten their life, research reveals.

Inquiry call on assisted dying A former health minister has called on the government to set up a royal commission on assisted dying.

Ludovic Kennedy, veteran presenter and campaigner, dies at 89 A vociferous advocate of assisted dying – one of his books is entitled Euthanasia: the Good Death – his belief in the right to die with dignity was born from watching his mother Rosalind's last, painful months.

Author Ludovic Kennedy dies at 89 The author, broadcaster and campaigner Sir Ludovic Kennedy has died aged 89. A former BBC Panorama journalist, Sir Ludovic spent decades investigating miscarriages of justice, including the case of the Birmingham Six. He contributed to the abolition of the death penalty and was also president of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.

Assisted suicide a step toward euthanasia in New Hampshire Physician prescribed suicide (HB 304) is on the New Hampshire House of Representatives legislative agenda. It is currently passing through the House Judiciary Committee and will be forwarded to the full House for action sometime in January 2010. Unfortunately, this is a bill that many see as the first step toward a policy of euthanasia in New Hampshire.

Lord Joffe to speak on assisted dying in Bath The peer who mounted an attempt to legalise assisted dying will speak on the subject in Bath later this month. The University of Bath is hosting a free public lecture by pro-legalisation campaigner Lord Joffe on Tuesday October 27.

Archbishop recruits St Therese in battle against assisted suicide Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, today cited St Therese at the end of her life as a shining example of why moves to adopt assisted suicide and euthanasia in Britain must be resisted.

Georgia to return $330,000 to assisted suicide group A judge has ordered Georgia to return $330,000 seized from an assisted suicide group in February.

Film explores emotional world of assisted suicide The film is called “The Suicide Tourist,” directed by Canadian John Zaritsky, who tells two interwoven stories about people who travel to Switzerland to end their lives. Switzerland is the only place in the world where people from another country can be helped to die.