The question of whether assisted dying is a treatment is of legal, philosophical, and clinical importance, write Gareth S Owen , Alex Ruck Keene , and Katherine Sleeman Assisted dying is back in UK parliaments. The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill1 is progressing through the Holyrood parliament, while key votes for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill lie ahead for Westminster.2 Debates have been complex and wide ranging, and political parties are split. One simple question has, however, received surprisingly little attention: is assisted dying a treatment? In our view there is a strong argument that assisted dying is an existential matter rather than one of treatment. At midnight on the final day of the public bill committee in Westminster the question was put to the minister of state for care Stephen Kinnock, speaking for the government. The bill, he responded, was silent on that.3 Questions remain about how the intervention at the heart of the bill—pr