Doctors Many staff would use 'conscience clause', says BMA

A large number of NHS medical staff in England and Wales are likely to exercise a "conscience clause" if assisted dying is legalised by parliament, doctors say.

- Harriet Sherwood

A private member's bill put forward by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater stipulates that no doctor would be obliged to participate in ending a life.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which holds a neutral position on the issue, says doctors should be required to proactively "opt in" to an assisted dying process, with the right to decline to carry out any directly related activities. It wants doctors to be given a "genuine choice about whether, and if so to what extent, they are willing to participate".

Surveys have produced mixed responses. In 2023, the Royal College of Surgeons found that 52% of respondents to a survey were in favour of assisted dying, with 25% against. In 2019, a Royal College of Physicians poll found 32% in favour and 43% opposed and a Royal College of GPs survey the same year showed 40% for and 47% against. A BMA survey in 2020 found 50% in favour, with 39% against.

Some NHS medical staff oppose assisted dying on religious grounds. According to a 2014 report, nearly seven in 10 had a religious affiliation. An estimated 10% of NHS staff are Muslim.

Faith leaders including the archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior Catholic leader in England and Wales, several imams, and the chief rabbi, have stated their opposition to assisted dying in recent weeks.