Kathleen Stock, former University of Sussex professor and prominent philosopher, has issued a stark warning against the U.K.'s proposed End of Life Bill. Her new book, Do Not Go Gentle: The Case Against Assisted Death, dismantles the moral and logical foundations of state-sanctioned assisted dying.
Stock, known for her defense of biological sex in gender debates, applies the same rigor to end-of-life policy. She rejects the notion that assisted death is a fundamental right, distinguishing between freedom from interference and a right to state-provided lethal assistance.
The bill, which passed its second reading in the House of Commons, eliminates mandatory consultations with palliative care or mental health professionals. Patients need only demonstrate minimal cognitive capacity-no questions about motivation required.
Stock draws chilling parallels with Canada’s system, where over 13,000 assisted deaths occurred in 2022, most citing "loss of meaning"-a core symptom of depression. Disabled advocacy group Not Dead Yet warns such policies signal that some lives are not worth living.
"When someone receives an assisted death, they don’t just die. They are being killed," Stock insists. She argues the term "dignity" has been corrupted-from intrinsic human worth to a condition tied to physical or mental ability.
The book’s most powerful indictment comes not from logic alone, but from the words of Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement: "You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life."