First steps down the slippery slope?: An analysis of the slippery-slope argument and its application to the question of assisted suicide

Ulster Med J. 2025 Apr;94(1):42-46. Epub 2025 Apr 30.

ABSTRACT

On 29 November 2024, the House of Commons voted in favour of legalising assisted suicide. The aim of the Bill is to “allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life.” At the time of writing, the Bill is under consideration at the Committee stage. This paper considers the implications of the bill and the appropriateness of using the “slippery slope” argument in its critique. It may be seen that when considering the practice of assisted suicide in jurisdictions where it has been legalised, the empirical form of the argument is shown to be valid. However, the logical form of the argument is less relevant as, once the principle is conceded, there are no further significant barriers and the slope is, in fact, a cliff edge. History shows that the proposed safeguards are unlikely to be robust or sufficient to withstand challenge.

PMID:40313997 | PMC:PMC12042852