Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide in the UK : An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

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ABSTRACT Assisted dying/assisted suicide (AD/AS) has emerged as an important policy issue across the world, with an increasing number of jurisdictions legalizing the practice in recent years. In this context, the article by Bache published earlier this year (2025) in Politics & Policy applied agenda‐setting theory to consider why AD/AS has not been legalized in the United Kingdom (UK) despite consistently high levels of public support. In addition, it considered the prospects for policy change and identified the factors that made policy change likely in the near future. Shortly after this article was published, a Parliamentary vote indicated that AD/AS would likely become available in the UK within a few years. While the original article outlined a range of factors that explained this probable policy change, it offered very limited space to consider developments in other jurisdictions and to reflect on what might be learned about the nature, pace, and timing of developments in the UK from these cases. Therefore, this additional piece is intended to extend and update the previous article in these areas. The discussion looks at the three cases that have featured most prominently in UK debates, and which have legalized through different routes—Oregon (referendum), Canada (courts), and the Netherlands (legislature)—thus drawing attention to systemic differences that provide insights for the UK case. I situate the discussion within the literature on morality policy, taking the comparativist “Two Worlds” approach as its starting point. Related Articles Bache, I. 2025. “The Multiple Streams Framework and Non‐Politicized Issues: The Case of Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide.” Politics and Policy 53, no. 1: e70016. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.70016 . Silagadze, N. 2021. “Abortion Referendums: Is There a Recipe for Success?” Politics and Policy 49, no. 2: 352–389. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12398 . Angervil, G. 2021. “A Comprehensive Application of Kingdon's Multiple Streams Framework: An Analysis of the Obama Administration's No Child Left Behind Waiver Policy.” Politics and Policy 49, no. 5: 980–1020. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12432 .

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