{"id":8995,"date":"2019-02-16T14:57:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-16T22:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=8995"},"modified":"2019-04-12T15:09:44","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T22:09:44","slug":"controversy-dogs-assisted-dying-poll-of-uk-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=8995","title":{"rendered":"Controversy dogs \u2018assisted dying\u2019 poll of UK doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>BioEdge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"author\">Michael Cook<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A controversial poll by the Royal College of  Physicians, in the UK, is expected to result in a change in its position  on \u201cassisted dying\u201d. Polling ends on March 1 and the result will be  announced later in the month.                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the email poll fails to reach a supermajority  of 60% who oppose a change from the status quo of opposition, the  official position of the College will change to neutrality.                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the face of it, the procedure for the poll is  bizarre. If 59% of the RCP\u2019s 35,000 members support opposition to  \u201cassisted dying\u201d, which in any democratic election would be an  overwhelming victory with a margin of 18 percent, they still lose.                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, a former chair of the RCP\u2019s ethics  committee has threatened legal action. Dr John Saunders described the  vote as a \u201csham poll with a rigged outcome\u201d. In a letter to The Guardian  he contended that the RCP would change its position to neutral even if  the result were the same as a 2014 poll, when 57.5% of the doctors who  voted did not                          \u201csupport a change in the law to permit assisted  suicide by the terminally ill\u201d.                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another group of doctors wrote a letter to The  Times in which they accused a cabal of hijacking the RCP. \u201cWe are  worried that this move represents a deliberate attempt by a minority on  the RCP council to drop the college\u2019s opposition to assisted suicide  even if the majority of the membership vote to maintain it.\u201d                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The RCP President, Dr Andrew Goddard, insists  that the poll is both fair and necessary. \u201cIt is important that the RCP  represents fairly the views of its full membership. We will go ahead  with the survey as planned.\u201d                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He is quite aware of the impact that a change  would have upon public opinion. \u201cThe RCP is frequently asked for its  stance on this high profile issue, which may be cited in legal cases and  parliamentary debate, so it is essential that we base this on an  up-to-date understanding of our members\u2019 and fellows\u2019 views.\u201d                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although some reports assumed that \u201cassisted  dying\u201d means \u201cassisted                          suicide\u201d, the RCP\u2019s definition seems to  encompass euthanasia as well: \u201cThe supply by a doctor of a lethal dose  of drugs to a patient who is terminally ill, meets certain criteria that  will be defined by law, and requests those drugs in order that they  might be used by the person concerned to end their life.\u201d In Oregon,  where only assisted suicide is legal, \u201ca physician prescribes a lethal  dose of medication to a patient, but the patient &#8211; not the doctor &#8211;  administers the medication.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/common.jpg\" alt=\"Controversy dogs \u2018assisted dying\u2019 poll of UK doctors\" class=\"wp-image-8343\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p> This article is published by Michael Cook and BioEdge under a  Creative  Commons licence. You may republish it or translate it free of  charge  with attribution for non-commercial purposes following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bioedge.org\/index.php\/bioethics\/copyright_and_syndication\">these guidelines<\/a>. If you teach at a university we ask that your department make a donation to BioEdge. Commercial media must <a href=\"mailto:michael@bioedge.org\">contact BioEdge<\/a> for permission and fees. Some articles on this site are published under different terms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BioEdge Michael Cook A controversial poll by the Royal College of Physicians, in the UK, is expected to result in a change in its position on \u201cassisted dying\u201d. Polling ends on March 1 and the result will be announced later in the month. If the email poll fails to reach a supermajority of 60% who &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=8995\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Controversy dogs \u2018assisted dying\u2019 poll of UK doctors&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,5,162,9,757],"tags":[3628,3627,3624],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-8995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-assisted-suicide","category-ethics","category-euthanasia","category-news","category-united-kingdom","tag-andrew-goddard","tag-john-saunders","tag-royal-college-of-physicians"],"yoast_head":"\r\n<title>Controversy dogs \u2018assisted dying\u2019 poll of UK doctors - Protection of Conscience Project News<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=8995\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Controversy dogs \u2018assisted dying\u2019 poll of UK doctors - Protection of Conscience Project News\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BioEdge Michael Cook A controversial poll by the Royal College of Physicians, in the UK, is expected to result in a change in its position on \u201cassisted dying\u201d. Polling ends on March 1 and the result will be announced later in the month. 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