Beyond the debate: centring people in conversations about dying

Assisted dying is changing. Countries around the world, including the UK,1 are considering changing the law, or have legalised assisted death.2 This editorial does not focus on legal, moral or ethical issues that surround assisted dying, but on the people at the centre of the debate: people with life-limiting conditions and their families.

The opportunity to write this editorial could not be more timely, having recently been invited to join the Independent Expert Panel of the UK Government’s Health and Social Care Committee, evaluating the state of palliative care in England.3 Our focus was palliative and end of life care, and not assisted dying; however, during discussions, we did talk about the importance of death literacy, specifically the lack of our willingness to talk about death and dying, even by and with people who have life-limiting conditions.

There is a wealth of research...