Britain's top doctors' body has wieghed in on the euthanasia debate. The British Medical Association (BMA) has affirmed that “assisted dying is not a medical treatment”, highlighting many of the issues with legislating in this area that will be of concern for MPs.
The BMA, the professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK, agreed at its Annual Representative Meeting last month that any legislation around assisted suicide should specify that “assisted dying is not a medical treatment”, and that it “must not alter the fundamental principles of the NHS”.
Motions passed at the Meeting also agreed that any assisted suicide legislation must be opt-in, to ensure that “no doctor would be required to have any involvement” with assisted suicide. The organisation affirmed that any assisted suicide legislation must explicitly protect the rights of medical students and doctors to not be forced to participate in any aspect of assisted suicide.
With regard to funding, the BMA agreed that any assisted suicide regime should be required to be funded separately from core NHS practices, and “must not result in any de-prioritisation or reduction of funding for core general practice, mental health, or palliative care services”.