Citizens’ jury in England backs assisted dying for terminally ill

A citizens’ jury has overwhelmingly backed the legalisation of assisted dying for terminally ill people after hearing from experts over a period of eight weeks.

Twenty out of 28 jurors based in England agreed the law should be changed, with seven disagreeing and one person saying they were undecided.

The conclusions of the citizens’ jury were published with the Westminster parliament expected to debate the issue in the coming months. The Labour peer Charlie Falconer, a former lord chancellor, has published a Lords’ private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying, and the Labour MP Jake Richards is considering bringing forward a bill after coming 11th in a ballot last week. Keir Starmer has backed a free vote on the issue.

Citizens’ juries are a way of testing public opinion on complex issues. They are considered more nuanced than polling.

Read more from the Guardian.