While international attention focuses on ceasefire frameworks, Israel is openly advancing plans for a permanent expansion of its control over Gaza, writes RAMZY BAROUD
THE notion that someone facing a terminal illness or fatal condition should be able to decide at what point their life should be brought to a close, and to opt for “death with dignity,” isn’t one that can be brushed aside.
Many of us will find ourselves or someone we love in a situation where such a decision is anything but an abstract consideration.
Yet the reality is that no public policy can be considered outside of the broader social and political context. As austerity measures take ever-greater effect and the provision of healthcare and vital support services are effectively rationed, the danger is that assisted dying can be effectively forced on those who have been socially abandoned.
With more people dying each year and many spending their final days in institutions, researchers argue that wider access to palliative care could offer a more humane and cost-effective alternative, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Evidence to peers from medical leaders, patient safety officials and the children’s commissioner has intensified fears that the Bill’s safeguards are inadequate, writes ADAM JAMES POLLOCK
GEOFF BOTTOMS, who has worked in a palliative care hospice for 11 years, argues the postcode lottery for proper end-of-life care must be ended to give the terminally ill choice and agency


