BMA members have rejected calls for the organisation to take a neutral stance on assisted dying after a tense debate at the union’s annual representative meeting in Bournemouth on 27 June.

A motion stating that assisted dying is a matter for society and not for the medical profession and that the BMA should adopt a neutral position on any change in the law was rejected by a considerable proportion of delegates at the conference.

The BMA’s 2010 guidance advises doctors to avoid all actions that might be interpreted as assisting, facilitating, or encouraging a suicide attempt, including advising patients on what constitutes a fatal dose of any drug and suggesting the option of suicide abroad. …