Doctors’ revolt over assisted suicide law

DOCTORS will take a stand against assisted suicide amid fears that Britain is moving towards legalised euthanasia.

Grassroots members of the British Medical Association are alarmed at a fresh drive for laws permitting the practice.

The BMA was traditionally opposed to doctor- assisted suicide until its policy was abandoned in a dramatic shift last year.

The call to return to the original stance will come at the BMA annual conference in Belfast next week. It follows proposals by crossbench peer Lord Joffe to resurrect the issue in Parliament.

The Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill would have let doctors prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients.

The Bill was blocked by the Lords last month but church leaders and other campaigners fear another attempt could be made next year.

Lord Joffe claimed 650 people a year would use the method – but critics predicted the figure could be as high as 15,000.

Dr Gill Beck, of the BMA’s Buckinghamshire division, said: ‘ The feeling is that the BMA should not have changed its stance last year.

‘On a personal level my concerns are that the developments that have come through over the years in palliative care are fantastic. I don’t feel comfortable with the change.’

Last month the Royal College of Physicians joined opposition to assisted suicide. A poll showed that 73 per cent of its members were against a change in the law. Members of the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Association for Palliative Medicine and the World Medical Association are also strongly opposed.

There are fears that the law would push seriously ill patients who were worried about becoming a burden on their loved ones to end their lives.

Dr Peter Saunders, of the Care Not Killing Alliance, said the BMA had been ‘silent about an issue where its views have direct relevance’.

The Daily Mail has been at the forefront of opposition to legalised euthanasia. The Mail highlighted concerns over ‘ euthanasia by the back door’ when it revealed that some hospitals are running a ‘ tick the box and die’ scheme – where doctors mark a form if patients indicate they wish to die should they become incapacitated.

Comment

Trust the doctors

LAST year, the British Medical Association reversed its traditional stand against legalised euthanasia. Today it is under strong pressure from its grassroots members to renew its opposition.

We have the gravest reservations about any form of legalised killing. The BMA should listen to ordinary doctors - and acton their wisdom and humanity.