Assisted dying: doctors challenge RCGP’s “irrational” interpretation of poll
BMJ 2020; 370 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3679 (Published 18 September 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;370:m3679Clarification: There were two legal challenges brought against the RCP's move to neutrality. The first was dismissed by the court in March 2019. The BMJ has been made aware by the claimants that the second legal challenge was dropped in March 2020 after the RCP clarified that it did not support a change in the law.
- Richard Hurley
- The BMJ
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has been threatened with legal proceedings unless it reconsiders its “irrational” decision to continue to oppose any change in UK law to permit assisted dying.
The college had said on 21 February that its 2019 membership survey did not present a mandate to change its stance opposing assisted dying.1 Critics argue that most respondents voted for the college to change its position from opposition and that a neutral position would best reflect the results.
The survey, run by Savanta ComRes from 29 October to 15 December 2019, had 6674 respondents, a 13% response rate. Of these, 47% (3144) said that the RCGP should oppose a change in the law, 40% (2684) said that …
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