« Tu ne tueras point ». Perspectives sur le suicide assisté en Grande-Bretagne

Émilie Dardenne

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Résumé :
In Britain, euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal. According to the 1961 Suicide Act, aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the suicide of another is a crime punishable by up to fourteen years of imprisonment. This has led more than a hundred British citizens to so-called “death tourism” in the last few years. Many have travelled to the Swiss clinic of organisation Dignitas which accompanies dying patients and assist them with “a self-determined end of life”.1The debate over the liberalisation of end-of-life practices is currently raging in Britain. There are more and more advocates of the decriminilisation or legalisation of assisted suicide. According to a ComRes 2010 poll, 73% of people agreed that family or friends should not fear prosecution if they help a loved one to die.2But the law sets a clear line: “thou shalt not kill”, the life of other people cannot be taken. People may not choose the time and manner in which they die. Is this simply a refusal of the “right to die in dignity” (in the words of Sir Terry Pratchett and other right-to-die campaigners)? Why do doctors, politicians, and religious leaders refuse to change the law or to see it changed? Here are some of the questions this paper will address.
Date de publication : 2012-06-14

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Émilie Dardenne, « « Tu ne tueras point ». Perspectives sur le suicide assisté en Grande-Bretagne », Cycnos, 2012-06-14. URL : http://epi-revel.univ-cotedazur.fr/publication/item/240