Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List
| | A | | | B | | | C | | | D | | | E | | | F | | | G | | | H | | | I | | | J | | | K | | | L | | | M | |
| | N | | | O | | | P | | | Q | | | R | | | S | | | T | | | U | | | V | | | W | | | X | | | Y | |
Policy guidelines of Euthanasia
The World Medical Association (WMA) declared euthanasia unethical in 1950.
Euthanasia is against the law in the UK. It is illegal to aid someone to take their life under any circumstances. ‘Assisted suicide’ or voluntary euthanasia can result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has clear policy opposing euthanasia. It accepts that patients can refuse life-prolonging treatment and that medication designed to keep them comfortable and pain-free may reduce their lifespan. However, it opposes plans to change the law to allow interventions that are intended to end life, such as a lethal injection (4).
By law, doctors are able to give patients large quantities of drugs to reduce pain or suffering, even if this speeds up death. However, they are not allowed to give drugs with the intention of causing or speeding up death. This is called the doctrine of double effect (5).
A draft bill called the Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill is being considered by parliament. If this bill is passed, it will “enable a competent adult who is suffering unbearably as a result of a terminal (or a serious and progressive) illness to receive medical help to die at his own considered and persistent request…” (6)
