Tony Nicklinson’s case has yet again thrown into the spotlight the issue of assisted dying and brought, again, arguments for and against, from an array of individuals and organisations. The issue was the basis of the recent Independent Falconer Commission1 and after thousands of written and oral submissions, this Commission came to an unambiguous view, namely ‘… current status of assisted dying is inadequate and incoherent’ and ‘there is a strong case for providing the choice of assisted dying for terminally ill people’. Arguments on either side are well rehearsed and laid out in the Falconer report: Those against often raise ‘What if …?’ questions; for example, ‘What if a patient is coerced into accepting assisted dying’? ‘What if this is the thin edge of the wedge?’ and ‘What if this represents the re-emergence of the eugenics movement’? Equally strong arguments are cited by those who advocate a change in the law — they talk about the rights of the mentally competent individual to chose …