Research findings - Physician assisted suicide

In a survey published 23rd May, the first of its kind in Britain, it is revealed that a majority of doctors in Britain believe they should be allowed to help suffering patients to end their lives.

Professor Sheila McLean, who is Professor of Law & Ethics in Medicine at Glasgow University, has conducted Britain's first ever research into the issue, the aim of which, she says, is to draft a bill which would legalise physician-assisted suicide. The controversial step would require the support of the medical profession. Her survey results indicate that she has the majority of the medical profession on her side.

Under the law in Britain at the moment, prescribing lethal drugs to help someone to die can be punished as culpable homicide in Scotland or as assted suicide/manslaughter in England.

54% of the doctors who responded to the confidential questionnaire said they would support a change in the law that would allow them to help patients to die. 16% said they would help in terminal cases, 11% in cases of physical suffering, and 7% simply if the patient wished it. A considerable proportion said they been asked by a patient to assist in suicide, and 3% admitted that they had in the past helped patients to die, and privately the figure is thought to be higher.

The Scottish Voluntary Euthanasia Society commented:

This ground-breaking research is most encouraging - it seems to confirm what we suspected, that a majority of doctors are caring people who want to respect their patients' wishes - even when doing so would mean prescribing drugs that would enable a suffering patient to choose quality over quantity of life. Until now, patients have not had the support of the medical profession or the law when taking these difficult decisions - this is one of the reasons why the Scottish Voluntary Euthanasia Society issues, under certain conditions, literature on "self-deliverance." We hope now that parliament will recognise the wishes of the public, the medical profession, and the humaneness of allowing death with dignity at a time of a patient's own choosing. We know there will be problems with any such legislation, but such problems are not insurmoutable - by doing nothing we would simply allow a heartless sentence to run its course for individuals whose indignity and suffering cannot be relieved - people deserve the key to the door marked "Exit" if that is what they want.

VESS made a grant of Ł42,000 available to Glasgow University to perform the research.