Views regarding physician-assisted suicide: a study of medical professionals at various points in their training

Abstract

In this study, we sought to obtain detailed opinion on some of the practical issues that might arise should physician-assisted suicide (PAS) ever be legalized in the UK. We carried out an anonymous postal questionnaire of medical students, junior and senior doctors working at an acute hospital trust, over a three-week period. A total of 435 questionnaires were distributed and we had an overall return rate of 34%. We found that opinions changed very little as doctors progressed from medical school through to senior clinical positions. Overall, there was neutral opinion on whether PAS should be legalized. There was strong support for a multidisciplinary approach to the process and the involvement of the coroner. An opt-out clause for physicians who did not want to be involved in assisted suicide also received strong support.

Attitudes of UK doctors towards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: A systematic literature review

“…23 Regarding PAS, the majority of doctors opposed PAS in eight studies, whereas the majority supported PAS in a single study of ICU physicians 20 and question phrasing led to unclear or divided attitudes in one further study. 9 Six studies looked at the percentage of doctors willing to perform AVE were it to be introduced, and the mean was 22.7%. Eight studies looked at the percentage of doctors willing to perform PAS were it to be introduced, and the mean was 24.9%.…”

Attitudes of UK doctors towards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: A systematic literature review

“…[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]13,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Figure 1 presents the full study selection process. Two early studies 13,22 presented the data in the format of a letter.…”

“…The influence of question phrasing and definitions on participant response is an accepted and important limitation of questionnaire/interview based studies, albeit one difficult to quantify. 24 Examples of this influence from this systematic review are three included papers, 9,19,20 which asked the same question in different ways obtaining more-or-less different results. Given this languagebased limitation, it is therefore important to reference Appendix 1 while interpreting the results in Tables 2 and 3 of this review.…”

“…23 Regarding PAS, the majority of doctors opposed PAS in eight studies, whereas the majority supported PAS in a single study of ICU physicians 20 and question phrasing led to unclear or divided attitudes in one further study. 9 Six studies looked at the percentage of doctors willing to perform AVE were it to be introduced, and the mean was 22.7%. Eight studies looked at the percentage of doctors willing to perform PAS were it to be introduced, and the mean was 24.9%.…”

“…Furthermore, many additional studies have since taken place. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The Select Committee's review did, however, provide an opportunity for organisations representing doctors to formally express their views on assisted dying, where the bill defined 'assisted dying' as 'the attending physician, at the patient's request, either providing the patient with the means to end the patient's life or if the patient is physically unable to do so ending the patient's life'. 2 Among these were the views of The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) published via the report of The Royal College of Physicians in London, and the stance expressed was a neutral one.…”