A concerted move to change the law?

The last medical body to do this rigged the poll.

In a worrying move for the vulnerable, the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have both announced that they are to consult their members on changing their stance on assisted suicide.

Euthanasia lobby gaining momentum

Both bodies currently oppose legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia, but announced within days of each other that they would survey members on changing to a neutral stance. Coming as it does soon after the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) used a highly controversial poll to drop their opposition, this will only confirm fears that there is a concerted move by the euthanasia lobby to get the medical bodies on side before attempting legislation. They appear to have identified the move to a neutral position as a way of gaining momentum for their cause and even using cunning approaches to do so.

GPs body

On Saturday, the general council of the RCGP decided that it would consult its 53,000 members on the issue. RCGP chairwoman Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said: "Assisted dying is an incredibly emotive issue that polarises opinions.

"It has been nearly six years since we asked our members as to whether we should support a change in the law on assisted dying - since then, it is possible that views within our membership have shifted.

"As such, RCGP Council has decided that the time is right to conduct this consultation, and we will be issuing further details of how we will do this in due course."

Followed by the BMA

Yesterday, doctors at the BMA’s policy-making conference voted to poll its 160,000 UK members. The motion was brought forward by London-based consultant radiologist Jacky Davis, chair of the campaign group Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying and a board member of Dignity in Dying. The motion narrowly passed, with 56 % voting in favour.

The BMA’s website notes that a substantial minority (44%) were against holding a poll, some because of the message that a move to neutrality would send, and some because of concerns on whether a poll was the best way to inform the BMA’s position.

Rigged poll

The article also notes that the RCP’s move to neutrality "caused much consternation". The RCP dropped its opposition to assisted suicide and moved to a neutral position even though 43.4% of members wanted to maintain opposition and just 25% favoured neutrality. In an extraordinary move, the College had decided in advance that it would move to neutrality unless a supermajority of 60% favoured remaining opposed. Before the vote, Dr David Randall, a registrar in renal medicine at the Royal London Hospital, explained the situation, saying: "The membership seems to be being offered a fait accompli by members of Dignity in Dying, who have achieved positions of influence on the RCP council, and it has been designed (using a totally unjustified supermajority requirement) to ensure that the College drops its long-standing opposition to assisted suicide ahead of future parliamentary attempts at legislation."

The Charities Commission announced last month that it would be investigating how the decision to require a supermajority was made.