The UK Assisted Dying Debate: Some Reflections on the Discourse

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards Leave a comment

On 29th November 2024 the U.K.’s House of Commons voted in favour (330 to 275) of giving Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill a second reading in the UK parliamentary process. This was a momentous moment in the history of the right-to-die movement which I have been researching for nearly… Continue reading

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill – 5 Considerations for Scottish Politicians

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards Leave a comment

Today (13th May 2025), the 129 members of the Scottish Parliament vote on whether the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) bill passes to stage 2 and makes its way towards becoming an Act of Parliament. It is 10 years since Scottish politicians voted on the issue and the international picture has changed considerably… Continue reading

A Living Curriculum: Conversations with My Classmates on the End-of-Life Studies Programme

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards 1 Comment

Written by Michelle Sok I HE, MSc in End of Life Studies When I first planned my 20-day spring trip across the UK and Northern Europe, I expected good coffee and tea, grey skies, and the occasional rocky castle and cathedral. What I did not expect was to walk into a series of deeply human… Continue reading

UK Benefit Reforms: What does this mean for terminally ill people in Scotland?

Published on: Author: samquinn Leave a comment

Access to quick and sufficient financial support can mean the difference between a dignified end-of-life and significant hardship for terminally ill people. However, recent UK government welfare reforms propose big changes to disability benefits, notably Personal Independence Payment (PIP), with tougher rules aimed at reducing welfare spending by around £5 billion annually by 2030. But… Continue reading

Reflections on the first graduating class of the End of Life Studies Programme

Published on: Author: Marian Krawczyk Leave a comment

Recently, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Dr Karen Wyatt on the End of Life University podcast. Our conversation delved into the unique aspects of the End of Life Studies programme here at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, as well as the broader implications for end-of-life care and education worldwide. This year… Continue reading

What Makes Talking About Death With Strangers Enjoyable? Death Cafés as Convivial, Revitalising Neo-Tribes

Published on: Author: Solveiga Zibaite Leave a comment

What actually happens at a Death Café? What do people talk about? And why do attendees appear to find talking about death so … enjoyable?! Over the course of my doctoral studies with the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group (2017-21) I attended 20 Death Cafes across the UK, studying people’s interactions and interviewing attendees… Continue reading

Assisted Lab: A Living Archive of Stories about Assisted Dying

Published on: Author: josephwood2 Leave a comment

How are the stories we tell about assisted dying used in policymaking and legal decisions?  I currently work as part of the Assisted Lab project at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, which tries to understand how and why certain stories about assisted dying are mentioned or used as evidence during the law-making process. Funded… Continue reading

My life after graduation

Published on: Author: Marian Krawczyk Leave a comment

This blog is written by a recent graduate of our program, Gina Tarditi, MSc. After finishing the two-year taught part of the End of Life Studies MSc program, I had to pick a dissertation topic for independent study and research. Living in Mexico City, and having worked in cancer care, I was particularly interested in… Continue reading