A slippery slope? What the lawyers say

One of the arguments that has come to the fore in the debate about assisted dying is the "slippery slope" theory - that the law will inevitably be expanded in time and the restrictions loosened.

- Haroon Siddique

Here is an explanation of why lawyers disagree about the likelihood of this happening.

Won't clearly defined legislation prevent a slippery slope?

Critics would argue that it will not. One argument is that while parliament might vote now to adopt a restricted version of assisted dying, MPs might expand it over time as assisted dying is normalised. That is the prerogative of parliament, but the more pressing concern for lawyers is whether or not there will be successful human rights challenges from people denied access to assisted dying under the current criteria, which would force an expansion in eligibility through the courts that MPs did not anticipate.