Doctors won’t be disciplined for giving records to patients thinking of assisted suicide, says GMC
BMJ 2013; 346 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f727 (Published 01 February 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f727- Clare Dyer
- 1BMJ
UK doctors who hand over medical records to patients who are contemplating assisted suicide abroad will not face disciplinary action by their regulator for aiding a suicide, the General Medical Council says in new guidance.
The guidance ends uncertainty after legal advice was issued to some doctors that they faced a possible charge of assisting a suicide or disciplinary proceedings just for releasing records to patients who wanted to end their lives abroad. Assisting a suicide is a crime in the United Kingdom carrying a possible jail sentence.
A steady stream of terminally ill people from the UK have sought help at the Dignitas …
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