Millions want their GP to 'opt out' of assisted dying if law is changed

Millions of adults want their family doctor to opt out of participating in assisted dying if the law is changed, a major new poll from Care Not Killing (CNK) finds.

Asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement: "I would personally prefer to have a GP who has opted out of participating in assisted dying/assisted suicide", just over a quarter (26 per cent) said they would. This number climbed to over a third of over 75s (34 per cent) and 18 - 24-year-olds (35 per cent), and rose further among those from ethnic minorities (40 per cent).

If repeated across the whole UK population, this would mean 14.3 million adults would prefer for their family doctor to have nothing to do with assisted dying and could lead to an exodus of patients from surgeries that participate in killing their patients.

While by a ratio of more than 2:1 (50 per cent to 23 per cent), the public agrees that "If assisted suicide/ assisted suicide were ever introduced in Britain, patients should have a legal right to be treated by doctors and other health professionals who have opted out". Among those expressing a view, this increased to 68 per cent who agreed with the statement and 32 per cent who disagreed.

The survey carried out by Whitestone Insight, a member of the British Polling Council, found that if assisted dying/assisted suicide were ever introduced in Britain, seven in 10 (69 per cent) of those surveyed believe hospices, care homes, doctors and other health professionals should have a legal right to opt out of participating in it. Of those expressing a view, this leapt to 85 per cent in agreement, compared to just 15 per cent who think there should be no opt-out.

The poll is being released ahead of the Second Reading debate of Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide bill in the House of Lords this Friday.

Asked: "Given its mission to protect the health and well-being of all people in the UK, the NHS is not the right organisation to deliver assisted dying/assisted suicide outcomes". Four in 10 (39 per cent) agreed, which rose to over half (53 per cent) of those who expressed an opinion.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, commented: "This major new poll shows the growing unease of ordinary people around the current attempts to legalise assisted dying. The supporters of changing the law claim the public backs assisted suicide, it can be done safely and cheaply - The opposite is true. The more the public hears about it, the more concerned they are about ripping up the NHS charter, turning doctors into executioners and see how the costs are quickly approaching half a billion pounds over a decade, while our amazing hospices and palliative sector remains starved of cash and facing years of cuts and reductions to services."

Asked if they agreed that legalising assisted dying/assisted suicide could lead to similar problems to those of the now discredited Liverpool Care Pathway in terms of the potential for well-meaning but dangerous outcomes, just one in six (17 per cent) disagreed, while four in 10 said it could. Once 'don't knows' were excluded, the figures rose to 30 per cent disagreeing and 70 per cent agreeing with the statement. Interestingly, it was the over 75s who saw the great possibility of abuse, with nearly half (46 per cent) agreeing with the statement and just 15 per cent disagreeing.

The poll followed interventions from several doctors' groups before the summer, including the Royal Colleges representing psychiatrists, physicians and GPs, who raised concerns that the Bill in its current form is deeply flawed and unworkable.

Dr Gordon Macdonald concluded: "Day by day, the public, doctors and health campaigners continue to express alarm at the current bill and the indecent haste of the legislative process. Take for example the Second Reading debate this Friday, in a highly unusual move, the Labour Whips, who had tried to stop the debate going into a second day, despite there being more than 200 speakers, have scheduled day two during recess. This is unprecedented for a private members' bill and is usually reserved for emergency government legislation such as the nationalisation of British Steel or the invasion of the Falkland Islands. Many people will rightly ask why the Labour whips seem so determined to rush this debate, which is backed by less than half of MPs. There are substantial parts of the bill that are completely unworkable, while we have already seen safeguards being watered down or removed, making the bill much more dangerous. This is why the House of Lords must be allowed to take its time to fix the legislation without the pernicious interference of the Executive (Government), or they must vote it down at Third Reading.".

Care Not Killing is a UK-based alliance bringing together over 40 organisations - human rights and disability rights organisations, health care and palliative care groups, faith-based organisations groups - and thousands of concerned individuals.

We have three key aims:

to promote more and better palliative care;
to ensure that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed;
to inform public opinion further against any weakening of the law.

If you would like to talk with someone about issues raised in this article, the Samaritans are available 24 hours a day. Call free on 116 123 or visit: www.samaritans.org

Read more about Care Not Killing: https://carenotkilling.org.uk/