Jonathan Romain and Kathleen Stock chaired by Nick Higham

Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain and philosopher and writer Professor Kathleen Stock debate assisted dying and the pros and cons of the legislation currently passing through parliament. Will assisted dying grant us dignity and control of our life and death or is this notion simply a collective fantasy?

Romain is a rabbi, writer and broadcaster and former chair of Campaign for Dignity in Dying, an organisation that believes in the right to an assisted death. In A Better Death: The Case for Assisted Dying, he lays out the arguments on the legal, practical and moral arguments on both sides. He also offers the first guide to meaningful ceremonies at the time of an assisted death to help families honour a life and ease their grief.

Stock is a frequent columnist at The Sunday Times and The Times and was a professor of philosophy at Sussex University until 2021. In Do Not Go Gentle: The Case Against Assisted Death, she argues that assisted dying will not grant the majority more control or freedom over life or death, nor will it increase dignity. Stock describes the idea that medically assisted suicide is a progressive option as a collective fantasy born out of irrational factors buried deep in 21st-century psyches.

Discussions are chaired by journalist Nick Higham, who was the BBC’s first ever media correspondent and is a former presenter of Meet the Author on the BBC news channel.