Some studies suggest that the news media coverage of euthanasia frames the dying body as a horrible, untreatable, and intolerable bodily state. This study analyses the framing of the dying body, its organic dysfunction, and the profiles of terminal and end of life people in the euthanasia debate in Portugal and the United Kingdom. The sample includes 72 stories containing references to organ dysfunctions caused by terminal and end of life illnesses and published between 2016 and 2024 in the news media Público, Expresso, The Guardian, and The Telegraph. Content analysis and argumentative discourse analysis were combined and guided by the seminal work of Street and Kissane. The narratives employ frames that depict the body as dependent, shameful, symptomatic, temporal, and accepting. These frames highlight the decline of the body, suffering, and confinement at home. The findings underline the need for enhanced journalistic practices when addressing end of life issues.

We are grateful to Ricardo Martins for his invaluable assistance in refining the coding process and to Rui Bruno Santos for developing the application used for automated data extraction. We also acknowledge Iñaki Garcia-Blanco for his role in the research

News media,Journalism,Euthanasia,Assisted dying,Agony,End of life,Terminal stage,Dying body,Portugal,United Kingdom

• Media and Communications - Social Sciences
• Languages and Literature - Humanities

This publication is an output of the following project(s):

• Aversion2agony: Uma análise comparativa transnacional da mediação jornalística da eutanásia em Portugal e no Reino Unido
• Candidates Survey (MPs and non-elected candidates) for the 2019 Legislative Elections
• Candidates Survey (MPs and non-elected candidates) for the 2022 Legislative Elections
• Candidates Survey (MPs and non-elected candidates) for the 2024 Legislative Elections