HALF of Scotland's doctors support a change in the law to permit doctors to prescribe drugs for eligible patients to self-administer to end their own life, a new study has found.
One of the largest surveys of doctors commissioned by the British Medical Association found that 61% were either supportive or undecided over whether there should be a change in the law to allow medical practitioners to prescribe drugs for assisted dying. Some 39% were opposed.
The research conducted by Kantar, an independent research organisation also shows that just over one in three Scots doctors would be willing to actively participate in the process of prescribing drugs for eligible patients to self-administer to end their own life. A further 19% were undecided.
READ MORE: Scotland’s laws on assisted dying 'not fit for purpose’
The BMA is currently opposed to all forms of physician-assisted dying and will remain so unless and until that policy is changed at an annual representative meeting.
This opposition has lead to MSPs rejecting previous attempts by MSPs Margo MacDonald (below) and Patrick Harvie to change the law.
The BMA said that it was not providing any interpretation of the findings.
"We hope that the data will help to inform debate on this topic within the medical profession and beyond," it said.
The results have been welcomed by Humanists Society Scotland who have been at the forefront of the campaign for a choice of an assisted death and supported the previosu two attempts to change the law.
"This shows that almost two-thirds of doctors believe that the BMA should either be supportive or neutral on the matter of assisted dying," it said.
Humanist Society Scotland chief executive Fraser Sutherland said: "This biggest ever survey of doctors confirms they do not believe that the BMA should attempt to block proposals to allow people the choice of an assisted death in Scotland.
"These new groundbreaking findings add to the fact that an overwhelming majority of the Scottish public support giving dying people the choice to end pain and suffering at the end of their life.
"These findings, alongside further developments in other countries around the world, will bear further pressure on the next Scottish Parliament after the election to look again at the right to choose an assisted death in Scotland."
Last month it emerged that Nicola Surgeon is to be asked to consider revised plans for Margo’s Law by a leading SNP activist who watched his grandmother suffer in extreme pain in the final days of her life.
Josh Aaron-Mennie is to due to put proposals to the SNP annual conference this month which could lead to new assisted dying legislation being published in Holyrood after the election next May.
The bereaved 26-year-old is currently drafting a resolution which will be submitted to the event being held online for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The former SNP deputy leader and independent MSP Margo MacDonald first championed measures to make it easier for doctors to help terminally ill people end their life in a dignified matter.
Her attempt ended in a resounding defeat in Holyrood in 2010.
The veteran campaining politician, who had Parkinson’s disease, died, aged 70, in April 2014.
Her bid was taken up the following year bythe Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens’ co-convener. But his Assisted Suicide Bill also failed to get through the Scottish Parliament.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel