Between 2019 and 2023, I led a research study called Dying in the Margins. This was funded by UKRI and supported by Marie Curie. The study was an attempt to better understand the experiences of people dying at home in circumstances of financial hardship and deprivation in the UK. Uniquely, we used a variety of visual methods to capture… Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
The proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults [Scotland] Bill launched on Thursday 28th March 2024. The Bill proposes allowing terminally ill people over the age of 16 the right to request lethal medication from a doctor which they would self-administer to bring an immediate end to their own life at a time and place of their choosing.… Continue reading →
This article was written by Naomi Richards in collaboration with Aileen Morton, Senior Policy & Advocacy Officer for Hospice UK in Scotland. In early 2024, as the hospice sector in Scotland grappled with the prospect of another parliamentary vote on whether or not to legalise assisted dying, I was invited by Hospice UK to facilitate… Continue reading →
The ESRC-funded Dying in the Margins study officially ended this week after 4 years (31st August 2023). Below are some of our reflections on this complex study. The various impacts of the work are still unfolding as Marie Curie continue to press for legislative changes at Holyrood and Westminster, and as we begin to take the… Continue reading →
How can anthropological theories enhance understanding of how people dying of Covid-19 were treated during the height of the pandemic? Dr Marian Krawczyk and I are both anthropologists who teach and research about end of life. We felt there was value in highlighting some key theories which could aid public understanding. Our new 2023 article,… Continue reading →
On the End of Life Studies MSc Programme, there is a course entitled Cultural Representations of Death and Dying which examines how dying, death and grief have been represented in popular culture (film, TV, mainstream fiction), visual arts (fine art, photography) and literary genres (creative non- fiction) over the last half century. Students are introduced to… Continue reading →
