Doctors could be given the right to be able to help terminally-ill people to die, a report proposed on Thursday.
Adults who are likely to have less than a year left could ask their doctor for a dose of medication that would end their life, the year-long Commission on Assisted Dying said.
The commission, chaired by former lord chancellor Lord Falconer, said that a terminally-ill person would need to be able to take the medication themselves, as a clear sign their actions were voluntary.
Only one member of the 11-strong commission, the Reverend Canon Dr James Woodward, said he was unable to back its majority decision, saying: "I believe that a broader societal debate is required before any attempt is made to move to a change in the law on assisted dying".
The findings will anger campaigners against a change in the law, who have warned that it would risk increasing the pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives out of fear they might become a burden for others.
While practical support should be provided for someone who was terminally ill with physical impairments, this should not take the form of another person administering the drugs and euthanasia should not be allowed, the report said.
The process would involve the independent judgments of two independent doctors, with support from other health and social care professionals where necessary.
Dr Peter Saunders, campaign director of Care Not Killing, insisted the law does not need changing and branded the commission's report "unnecessary, biased and... seriously flawed". It could lead to around 13,000 deaths a year, the Care not Killing alliance said.
But Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association (BHA), welcomed the report, adding that its recommendations should be broader too limited in their scope. "The majority of the public support a reform in the law, and we do not believe there are any credible arguments to keep the law as it is," he said.
What would happen if it came to a vote in parliament is unclear. David Cameron has previously signalled his opposition to assisted suicide. In 2006 he wrote a letter to pro-life campaigners: "We should not allow doctors or others positively to accelerate death - because I think the long-term consequences of permitting such action are too likely to be dangerous for society."