Lady Hale

Rowan Williams

[A] nuanced and thoughtful book … featuring pro (Hale) and anti (Williams) arguments that acknowledge the strengths of the other side’s position while meticulously identifying its weaknesses

Two leading thinkers present alternative answers to one of the most difficult and divisive questions of our times. 
 
As pressure grows to legalise assisted dying in the United Kingdom, the issue remains deeply contested. For those who feel unsure or undecided, this book o­ffers clarity rather than slogans, illuminating the legal and ethical fault lines at the heart of the debate: between autonomy and safety; between personal choice and collective responsibility. 
 
Lady Hale, former president of the Supreme Court, argues that everyone should have the freedom to decide the time and manner of their own death. Drawing on real cases in real courts, she explores how the law might establish e­ffective safeguards while preserving an individual’s right to decide for themselves when their suffering becomes unbearable. 
 
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, sits in opposition, contending that no such right can ever be absolute, or unqualified. He raises moral and practical concerns about the protection of vulnerable communities – especially those living with disabilities – the pressures facing an already overstretched NHS and the risk that assisted dying could become a substitute for properly funded palliative care. 
 
Both confront the questions and decisions we all must face: who should be eligible for assisted dying; how should it be authorised; who should deliver the programme; and what modern medicine could, and should, provide. Ultimately, they turn to a deeper challenge: how a public healthcare system can universally uphold dignity, and what it would truly mean to offer us all what we profoundly deserve – a good death. 
 
Published in conjunction with Intelligence Squared, the world’s leading curator of debate, this book is part of the Think Again series: short books that present two expert, contrasting but equally persuasive views in a single volume.

Do We Have the Right to Die?

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

sectionTitle

isEnabled

anchor

anchorLabel

prhuk/featured-book

prhuk/praise-section

maxBooks

showViewMore

prhuk/books-section

hideAuthorAlert

formName

iterableDivision

iterableBrand

buttonText

description

heading

legalText

successHeading

successText

image

alignment

variation

prhuk/email-section

prhuk/series-section

prhuk/biography-section

prhuk/articles-section

prhuk-authors

Think Again

From the World of Percy Jackson: The Wild Zone

Is This a Plum?

We Are Not Machines

The Book of Birds

Rowan Williams

Praise for Do We Have the Right to Die?

[A] nuanced and thoughtful book … featuring pro (Hale) and anti (Williams) arguments that acknowledge the strengths of the other side’s position while meticulously identifying its weaknesses

Series by Rowan Williams

Think Again

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter