160,000 doctors to be asked their views on assisted dying

The first ever survey by The British Medical Association (BMA) will ask 160,000 doctors their opinions on assisted dying, making it the largest poll to date in the UK.

The BMA is currently opposed to a change in the law on assisted dying, despite never having surveyed its members for their views on the issue.

'Members will be able to express their views on this historic issue'

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) dropped its longstanding opposition to assisted dying in favour of neutrality following a membership survey in 2019. The results of a recent poll by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) are due to be released later this month.

Dr Jacky Davis, chair of Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying, introduced the following motion, all parts of which were passed by the BMA’s representative body.

Dr Davis said: “This survey is an important step for the BMA and means that members will be able to express their views on this historic issue. As demonstrated by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) poll last year, it is becoming clear that there is a wide spectrum of views in the medical profession towards supporting greater patient choice at the end of life, and the policy of medical organisations needs to reflect that.

“Politicians and patients want to know what doctors think on this issue and we need all views to be heard. Our patients have wanted this choice for decades and we should be pleased that doctors are prepared to engage in the debate.”

Assisted dying is illegal in England and Wales under the Suicide Act (1961), and in Northern Ireland under the Criminal Justice Act (1966). It states that anyone who “encourages or assists a suicide” is liable to up to 14 years in prison.

There is no specific crime of assisting a suicide in Scotland but it is possible that helping a person to die could lead to prosecution for culpable homicide.

300 teminally ill people take their own lives in England each year

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying said: “This survey is a welcome move which shows maturity and pragmatism. For many years, the BMA’s opposition has been interpreted as most doctors being opposed to assisted dying, despite this claim never being tested against the views of its membership. “With one Brit travelling to Switzerland for an assisted death every week, 300 terminally ill people ending their own lives in England every year, and many more suffering unbearably against their wishes, it is clear the current law is not working and this issue is not going away.

"It is vital that medical organisations provide an open and respectful platform for all views to be heard, but we must also ensure that the most important voices – terminally ill people and their loved ones – remain central to this debate.”