Doctors' groups drop euthanasia opposition

TWO British doctors' associations no longer oppose euthanasia. Health minister Peter Roffey believes that could change the way people in Guernsey feel about the issue.

'It will make it more difficult for those opposing any change to say that medical opinion is firmly against voluntary euthanasia,' he said.

He is taking an amendment to the States which would allow doctor-assisted death in strictly defined circumstances.

The Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of General Practitioners, with 21,000 members between them, have abandoned their objections to a UK bill which, if enacted, would provide legal protection for doctors assisting patients to die. Their stance is now neutral.

'It's significant in that it reflects a gradually changing attitude to the subject to a more permissive one,' said Deputy Roffey.

He said that the views of the medical profession often lagged behind those of society but believed this was rightly so on issues such as euthanasia given the position of trust that it has to uphold.

'A lot of weight is put on medical opinion. Physicians and GPs are groups of doctors that tend to be dealing with the terminally ill on a regular basis and have a particular insight.

'It would be unrealistic for them to go from a position of opposition to one of support in one jump. But to go to neutrality is significant and it reflects a general drift in national and international opinion in the last 10 or 20 years.'

He said that many medical professionals who gave information to the Death With Dignity working party were influenced by the stance of their respective professional bodies such as the RCP and RCGP.

Now that this has changed, Deputy Roffey believes that local professionals may begin to follow suit.

'Even in Guernsey, a survey by the working party showed that just over 36% of doctors felt that there ought to be a change in the law along the lines that I'm proposing. I suspect that if that was taken today rather than a year ago, the figure might have gone up.'

He said that he agreed with the RCP that the issue was a matter for society to decide rather than medical professionals.