Pressure is growing in Europe for some form of legalised euthanasia but few governments have gone as far as the Benelux countries in allowing in clearly defined cases. The mix of growing public support for ending lives of the terminally ill or brain dead continues with hard-fought legal battles in Italy and in France.

It has also created a legal and ethical twilight zone where for compassionate reasons the law did not really punish the doctors, nurses or relatives who helped someone die. In France, this became clear in a number of court cases where the person accused of assisted suicide were convicted but got only a short suspended sentence. In Britain, a frequently used way to get around the law has been the so-called route to the Dignitas suicide group in Zurich. Pressed by the Law Lords to clarify British policy, the director of Public Prosecutions in London has issued guidelines indicating when someone who helps another person to commit suicide might face legal action. At first glace, this may seem like a clarification. But it still leaves enough questions out there to leave the issue shrouded in uncertainty. The reception in London has been mixed.