Press Release – Public Opinion on Assisted Suicide: Unclear, Unchanged and Undecided

The campaign to legalise assisted suicide in England and Wales claims that a clear majority of the public are in favour of it. However, a new briefing paper released by the Anscombe Bioethics Centre reveals that the headlines do not reflect a far more complicated reality: only a minority strongly support legalisation, fewer than half want MPs to vote in favour, and very few people think this should be a priority for the Government.

By analysing several different surveys and polls, including two new surveys published in the past week, the paper shows that public opinion on assisted suicide has remained quite stable over recent years. There has been no dramatic increase of those in favour of changing the law to justify proposing another bill so soon after the last one was defeated in 2015. If anything, there has been a decline in those who ‘strongly support’ legalising assisted suicide.

While a majority of people support a change in the law in principle, at least ‘somewhat’, fewer say that they want their MP to vote in favour. To the question ‘Looking ahead to after the next General Election, would you want your MP to vote for or against legislation to make assisted dying legal in the UK?’ only 43% said ‘vote for’. In London ‘vote for’ was only 34% and among Asian and Black Britons it was 24%.

There is also widespread confusion with surveys showing between 39% and 42% of people think that ‘assisted dying’ refers to withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.

MPs should vote based on their own consciences and what they judge to be best for the common good. But they do not need to fear acting against what is claimed to be the opinion of the people.

END

Notes to Editors:

• Any part of the above can be quoted as coming from our Director, Professor David Albert Jones.
• For more information, please see the Centre’s full Guide on ‘Assisted Dying’ (euthanasia and assisted suicide) which includes a guide to the latest evidence concerning EAS internationally, the Centre’s series of briefing papers on EAS since 2021 of which the above paper is the latest, and videos on subjects relating to EAS.
• If the issues discussed here affect you or someone close to you, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 (UK and ROI), visit their website or contact them on: jo@samaritans.org
• If you are reporting or writing about a case of death by suicide, whether assisted or non-assisted, please consult the Samaritans’ media guidelines on how to do so responsibly.
• For more information on the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, see our website: www.bioethics.org.uk
• For interviews or comment, contact: media@bioethics.org.uk