Welcome to the Exit history page.

1935 Formation of a voluntary euthanasia society in England (later known as "Exit" or "The Voluntary Euthanasia Society") by Lord Moynihan & Dr Killick Millard.

1936 King George V receives euthanasia from Lord Dawson unofficially.

Voluntary Euthanasia Bill presented to the House of Lords: rejected.

1969 Voluntary Euthanasia Bill debated again in the Lords and again rejected.

The term "living will" is coined by Luis Kutner to describe an advance refusal of medical treatment.

1973 Voluntary Euthanasia societies formed in the Netherlands.

1974 Dr George Mair publishes "Confessions of a Surgeon" giving details of voluntary euthanasia practised in a hospital.

1976 Voluntary Euthanasia societies formed in Japan and Germany. 1st international conference of voluntary euthanasia societies, in Tokyo.

1977 Dutch Medical Council officially accepts V.E.

1978 Derek Humphry's "Jean's Way" published in London, telling how his wife had made a pact with him to end her own life.

1979 British V.E. Society votes to publish a guide to self-deliverance. Membership quadruples. Publication delayed until 1981 by legal and other obstacles, and the book subsequently withdrawn after further legal problems.

1980 Exit (known as Scottish Exit and later as VESS) assumes independence under the auspices of George Mair and Sheila Little, and publishes "How to Die With Dignity" - the first suicide guide to be published in the world.

Official formation of the World Federation of Right-to-Die Societies.

1981 Nicholas Reed, of the English V.E. Society, is sentenced to prison for assisting suicides.

A Rotterdam court states conditions under which aiding suicide and administering Voluntary Euthanasia will not lead to prosecution in the Netherlands.

1983 Legal worries over publication of the English Society's guide to self-deliverance continue. The Attorney General unsuccessfully seeks an injunction to prevent distribution.

1984 The Supreme Court of the Netherlands declares that V.E. is acceptable subject to ten clearly defined conditions.

1985 Lord Jenkins presents a Bill to the Lords to repeal a relevant clause of the English Suicide Act: defeated.

1990 Roland Boyes MP presents a Bill to Parliament for euthanasia: defeated.

1991 US Congress passes the "Patient Self-Determination Act", compelling hospitals to respect Living Wills.

Derek Humphry's book on self-deliverance, "Final Exit," tops an American best-seller list for several weeks.

Washington State Initiative Bill legalising voluntary euthanasia narrowly defeated.

1992 Dr Cox is tried for administering euthanasia to Mrs Boyes and receives a suspended sentence.

The British Medical Association declares its support for living wills.

1993 The Law Lords allow the feeding tube of Tony Bland, who is in persistent vegetative state, to be removed.

Sue Rodriguez, a young woman with Lou Gehrig's disease, seeks permission from the Supreme Court of Canada for assistance to die, and is refused by a narrow majority.

Formation of the International Drugs Consensus Working Party and publication by VESS of "Departing Drugs," the first scientifically researched international self-deliverance guide.

Formation of the House of Lords Select Committee to investigate euthanasia and living wills.

1994 First international collection of living wills published (by VESS).

The Council of the British Medical Association declares support (in principle) for legislation regulating living wills.

Oregon USA passes a law to allow doctors to prescribe lethal drugs, but an injunction prevents it from taking effect.

1995 The British Medical Association produce a Code of Practice on Living Wills.

The Law Commission propose legislation covering living wills and health care proxies.

VESS distributes a radical new living will form after much research, anticipating the BMA guidelines, and also introduces the values history document to the UK.

The Irish Supreme Court decides that the feeding tube may be removed from a woman who has lain in a vegetative state for over 20 years, so that she may die.

Northern Territory, Australia, passes the first law in the world to allow active voluntary euthanasia, allowing doctors to administer a lethal injection. The law is linked to improvement of palliative care and will takes some months before it is fully operational.

1996 The Nine Circuit Court of Appeal in the United States over-rules earlier judgements and upholds the constitutionality of assisted suicide, and also Oregon's Death With Dignity law on assisted suicide. The Second Circuit also comes out in support of assisted suicide.

The Scottish Courts decide, in Scotland's first "right-to-die" case, that Mrs Johnstone, who has been in a coma for four years, may have her feeding tube removed to allow her her to die.

Completion of "Sometimes a Small Victory" - A year long intensive study by Glasgow Univerity's Institute of Law & Ethics in Medicine on the feasibility of legal reform on physician assisted suicide. Includes a draft bill (legislative template).

1997 Supreme Court of America rule that laws against physician assisted suicide are not unconstitutional.

Paul Brady assists in the suicide of his brother James, pleading guilty to a charge of culpable homicide. Admonished by the Scottish Courts and walks free.

Australia's Northern Territory law is overturned.

Colombia introduces limited euthanasia.

1998 The Oregon Death With Dignity Act goes into effect allowing people to erecive assisted suicide from physicians.

1999 Dr Jack Kevorkian sentenced to 10-25 years imprisonment for the murder of Thomas Youk after showing his video of death by lethal injection on national television.

2000 VESS (Voluntary Euthanasia Society of Scotland) changes its name to Exit again.

2001 EXIT adopts the Carver Model of Policy Governance, turning its back on the internal divisions that dog so many voluntary organisations. The membership expels hardline troublemakers so Exit can get on with its primary mission to provide self-deliverance information to all who need it.

2002 Workshops on self-deliverance under way.

2004 Exit develops full-day self-deliverance workshops around the UK.

2007 After much research, EXIT publishes a new self-deliverance manual,Five Last Acts, leading the field in new and existing techniques.

Phasing in of UK laws on living wills.

2009 Clarification from the Crown Prosecutor (England and Wales) on when persons are likely or not likely to be prosecuted for nominally assisting a suicide (for instance, by accompanying someone to Switzerland).

2009 In addition to UK-wide self-deliverance workshops, EXIT introduces two-day 'mega' workshops.

2010 Expanded edition of Five Last acts published, available from Amazon.

2013 The Exit Path is released, a 750-page edition of Five Last Acts, with latest analysis and comparisons.