Calling out for Choice: British membership of Dignitas rises by 50% in last five years as MPs face historic vote

British membership of Switzerland assisted dying organisation Dignitas has risen more than 50% in the last five years. There are now 2,231 British members, compared to 1,430 in 2019. Dignitas has yesterday (Wednesday 9th April 2025) released its annual figures showing membership numbers and the numbers of assisted deaths at its organisation. 37 people from Britain had an assisted death at Dignitas in 2024.

The figures have been released ahead of the Report Stage of Kim Leadbeater MP’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes that terminally ill adults should have the choice of assisted dying. Last month, the Bill concluded its Committee Stage, during which MPs sat for over 80 hours and heard from a wide range of expert witnesses. The Bill has been strengthened coming out of Committee, with key amendments accepted including the establishment of a judge-led multidisciplinary panel to oversee every application, mandatory training for doctors and panellists on detecting coercion and recognising domestic abuse, and the creation of a Disability Programme Board. The Bill will now be debated again at Report Stage on Friday 16th May, with its Third Reading on Friday 13th June.

Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said:

“The increase in Dignitas figures in recent years is concrete evidence that dying Britons are calling out for choice at the end of their lives. Without the option of assisted dying in their home country – terminally ill people are having to scrape together the £15,000 this now costs to have an assisted death overseas. They face the cruel choice of leaving their home and loved ones behind or putting them at risk of prosecution for accompanying them. For those who cannot afford it, some are left to suffer as they die, despite good care, or to take matters into their own hands, often dying violent and lonely deaths. We can and must do better for dying people in this country.

“We need a clear and compassionate law for this country, and we are closer than ever before to having one. The Isle of Man is the first British Isles jurisdiction to change the law and there will soon be key votes on bills in Westminster and Holyrood. Parliamentarians are increasingly recognising that the blanket ban on assisted dying is unequal and fails to protect any of us, catching up to the three-quarters of the British public who want to see the law changed. When MPs come to hold this historic vote on Kim’s Bill in the coming weeks, they must remember the dying people who are depending on them to vote for change.”

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For more information or interview requests please email Tom Steen, Media & Campaigns Officer at tom.steen@dignityindying.org.uk or call 07356135578.