RCGP shifts to position of neither supporting nor opposing assisted dying

The Royal College of General Practitioners' Council has voted to move to a position of neither supporting nor opposing assisted dying being legal.

The RCGP UK governing Council - elected representatives of the wider College membership – today voted to determine what the College’s stance should be on whether or not assisted dying should be legal:

• 39% voted that the RCGP should oppose assisted dying being legal
• 61% voted that the RCGP should move to a position of neither supporting nor opposing assisted dying being legal
• 0% voted that the RCGP should support assisted dying being legal, subject to an appropriate regulatory framework and safeguarding processes
• 0% abstained.

This vote follows a member-wide survey conducted earlier this year, which was completed by 8,779 GPs and GP Registrars. The survey was intended to inform RCGP Council’s decision about what the College’s position should be, and not to be a binding referendum. RCGP members were asked what they believed the RCGP's position should be on whether or not assisted dying should be legal:

• 47.6% of respondents said that the RCGP should oppose assisted dying being legal
• 13.6% said that the RCGP should move to a position of neither supporting nor opposing assisted dying being legal
• 33.7% said that the RCGP should support assisted dying being legal, subject to an appropriate regulatory framework and safeguarding processes
• 5.1% were undecided.

Members were then asked, if none of the three statements in the previous question were selected by more than 50% of respondents, which of the following approaches RCGP Council should take:

• 23.8% said that the College should adopt the position chosen by the highest number of respondents
• 49.8% said the College should adopt a position of neither supporting nor opposing assisted dying being legal
• 19.4% said neither of the above
• 7% were undecided.

The College’s previous position of opposing a change in the law on assisted dying was adopted by RCGP Council in 2005 and reaffirmed in 2014 and 2020, following an engagement exercise and a member consultation, respectively. In September 2024, RCGP Council voted to review this position in view of the current legislative proposals and debate around assisted dying in England and Wales, Scotland and in the Crown Dependencies - and in November 2024, RCGP Council voted to conduct a member survey to inform its decision.

Commenting on the Council decision, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "Today’s discussion and our recent survey of our members, have clearly shown that GPs have widely differing and strongly held views about assisted dying – we care deeply about our patients. This is a highly sensitive personal, societal and legislative issue, and we need to be in a position to represent the views of all of our members and patients; shifting to a position of neither opposing nor supporting assisted dying being legal will allow us to do this best.

"Neither opposing nor supporting assisted dying does not mean we will be stepping back from the debate. Our focus will be on advocating for our members, regardless of their views on assisted dying, as to how potential changes in the law will impact on their daily practice and the care they deliver for patients.”

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is currently in Committee Stage in the House of Commons. If voted into law, the Bill will allow eligible adults in England and Wales who are terminally ill to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life. In Scotland the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill remains at first stage as MSPs consider the general principles of the legislation.

Despite neither opposing or supporting assisted dying being legal, the College will continue to engage with the legislative debate – and has already given evidence to legislators in both Westminster and the Scottish Parliament - both to ensure that any changes to the law protect the interests of all patients and healthcare professionals, and that palliative care is appropriately resourced.

The College will continue to advocate for the recommendations of a College working group that was set up to consider the practical implications for GPs should there be a change in the law to permit assisted dying, agreed by Council in September 2024. These include that should assisted dying be legalised:

• it should be seen as an additional specialised service that GPs and other healthcare professionals may opt to provide with additional training, and not part of core general practice;
• it should be a standalone service that will need to be separately and adequately resourced;
• there should be a right to refuse to participate in the process on any ground and statutory protection making it unlawful to discriminate against, or cause detriment to, any doctor on the basis of their decision to, or not to, participate in the assisted dying process;
• work should be undertaken to define standards and training for those involved in delivering assisted dying services; and crucially
• it should not have a negative impact on funding for palliative care services in any way.

Professor Hawthorne continued: "As well as ensuring there are robust safeguards in place to protect patients, the College will work to ensure that no GP feels as though they have to participate in delivering assisted dying services - and that these services are provided separately to core general practice. We will also be clear that funding should not be diverted from general practice - or palliative care services - in order to deliver these services.

“GPs and our teams are an integral part of the delivery of high-quality palliative care, supporting patients and their families through an extremely difficult time. The College will continue to call for palliative and end of life care to be given the support and funding it needs.

“When patients are at or near the ends of their lives it is often when they need the most care, support and time from their healthcare professionals. Above all else, it is vital that regardless of whether or not assisted dying is permitted for terminally ill patients, they have access to the best possible palliative and end of life care."

Notes to Editor

The College commissioned Savanta – a third-party independent research agency – to administer the member survey, and members of the Savanta project team were represented on the College’s advisory group. The survey was in field between 24 January and 10 February 2025.

Email invitations (and reminders) were sent out by email to 53,539 records from the RCGP’s membership database. This survey was open to all RCGP members listed on our database as training, eligible to work or has previously worked as a GP in the UK, one of the Crown Dependencies, or the Republic of Ireland. A total of 8779 responses were received. This is a response rate of 16%. Responses have been weighted according to the age, location, gender and member grade of our membership to provide a representative sample.