Dame Esther Rantzen has hailed a change in position from GP leaders who are no longer formally opposed to a change in legal assisted dying laws.
The veteran journalist, who is living with stage 4 lung cancer and has become an advocate for people to be given more choice on how they die, called the change “very good news.”
The 84-year-old, revealed in December that she had joined Dignitas due to the current law in England, said unless her current medication turns out to be “totally miraculous” and extends her life by a few years “there’s no way an assisted dying law can come into force in time for me”.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) confirmed on Friday that it has moved to a position of neutrality – neither opposing nor supporting a change in the law.
It had adopted a position of opposition in 2005 and held that stance since then.
The change in position comes as MPs in England and Wales consider legislation which could see assisted dying legalised in the two nations.
Around six in 10 (61%) of the college’s council voted for a move to a position of neither supporting nor opposing legalising assisted dying.
Almost four in 10 (39%) voted to maintain the position of opposition.
This followed a non-binding survey of 8,779 GPs and GP Registrars, which saw a third (33.7%) state that the college should support assisted dying being legalised.
Around one in 10 (13.6%) favoured a position of neutrality, while just under half (47.6%) said the opposition stance should remain.
The consultation results showed “widely differing and strongly-held views about assisted dying”, said RCGP chairwoman Professor Kamila Hawthorne.
She 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.”
Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of campaign group Care Not Killing, said the change in stance was “disappointing, but unsurprising as doctors’ groups continue to wrestle with how to respond to multiple attempts to introduce assisted suicide and euthanasia in the UK”.
But Sarah Wootton, CEO of Dignity in Dying, said: “This is a sensible and pragmatic decision, reflecting a remarkable shift in how the medical profession approaches choice at the end of life.
“At one time the Royal College of GPs, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Surgeons and the British Medical Association all opposed attempts to change the law in this area. Today, that is no longer the case.
“The decision recognises that these reforms are almost certainly coming to parts of the British Isles. With the Isle of Man on the cusp of changing the law, and bills in Westminster, Scotland and Jersey making steady progress, there is a strong chance that some terminally ill British citizens may take this choice before the end of the decade.”
The Royal College of Nursing’s governing council voted in 2009 to move to a neutral stance on assisted dying for terminally-ill people, while doctors’ union the BMA shifted from a position against assisted dying to one of neutrality in 2021.
The Royal College of Physicians adopted a neutral position in 2019, and the Royal College of Surgeons of England did so in 2023.
A committee of 23 MPs is undertaking line-by-line scrutiny of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill before it returns to the House of Commons – most likely towards the end of April – for further debate and a vote.
