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Tuesday, 28 June 2005 12:20

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Doctors to debate assisted death

Doctors at the British Medical Association’s annual representatives meeting in Manchester are set to debate a relaxation of the euthanasia laws.

The debate comes after Lord Joffe announced he would reintroduce his bill calling for the right to die to be relaxed.

Dr Michael Wilks, chairman of the BMA’s ethics committee, said it was time to look again at assisted suicide - where the patient is given the means to end their own life, and euthanasia - where the patients is too week to kill themselves and appoints someone else to do it for them.

"The BMA has always maintained there is no difference and has remained opposed to a change in the law," he said.

"But there are some suggestions that there are mixed opinions within the profession.

"Talking about it and re-examining the issue is the responsible thing to do."

Lord Joffe’s Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill proposed “enabling a competent adult who is suffering unbearably as a result of a terminal illness to receive medical assistance to die at his/her own considered and persistent request”.

But a House of Lords Select Committee said that a clear distinction must be made between assisted suicide and euthanasia before future legislation could be passed.

On motion to the BMA conference proposed that the body take a neutral position while the bill is debated, while another called for the BMA to back the bill.

Lord Joffe said the outcome of the doctor’s debate would be crucial to the formation of the new bill.

"I am particularly interested in the views of doctors on the distinction between assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia and whether my bill should be limited to one or the other, or should include both," he said.

"Increasingly doctors are recognising that a new understanding about end of life matters is required that gives the patient the final say. At the same time, we must respect and protect the position of medical professionals. I want the law to be transparent for everybody."

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