A report by Policy Exchange criticising the quality of the Parliamentary debate on the last bill seeking to legalise physician-assisted suicide is being republished in light of the imminent debate on a similar bill introduced in the House of Commons by Kim Leadbeater MP.

The report, written by Professor John Keown, one of the world’s leading authorities on medical law and ethics and author of ‘the classic text’ on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, warns that the law in Canada provides ‘a revealing and ongoing illustration of the slippery slope’, and argues that legalising physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill could and would ‘be extended to many other patients, including the frail elderly and people with a range of disabilities.’

The report contains forewords from retired Supreme Court Justice Lord Sumption; former Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Reith lecturer Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve, and leading barrister Lord Carlile of Berriew KC. The reissued version carries endorsements from other leading peers and legal experts including Baroness (Tanni) Grey-Thompson, Paralympian and Cross-bencher; the Rt Hon Dominic Grieve KC, former Attorney-General for England and Wales; His Honour Thomas Teague KC, former Chief Coroner for England and Wales; Sir Patrick Elias, former Lord Justice of Appeal, and Lord Shinkwin, Conservative Peer.