Less than half public want MPs to vote for assisted dying

A minority of Britons “strongly” support assisted dying, according to new research.

 Surveys analysed by the Anscombe Centre, Oxford reveal that while “a clear majority” of the public support the change, “fewer than half” want their MPs to approve such legislation.

Professor David Jones, the centre’s director, said that 43 per cent said they would ask their MP to vote in favour of Assisted Dying. “In London, the ‘vote for’ was only 34 per cent,” said Jones, adding, “Among Asian and Black Britons it was 24 per cent.”

 He observed “no dramatic increase” of those favouring changing the law since a bill for Assisted Dying was mooted in 2015: “If anything, there has been a decline in those who ‘strongly support’ legalising assisted suicide,” he said.

Surveys also showed “widespread confusion” reigned among the public over the meaning of Assisted Dying: “Between 39 per cent and 42 per cent of people think that ‘assisted dying’ refers to withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment,” said Jones.

 Cardinal Vincent Nichols warned that a right to die could “all too easily” lead to vulnerable people feeling they have “a duty to die.”  The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales’ made his remarks in a letter printed in The Observer co-signed with 28 other faith leaders, including the Chief Rabbi, the Anglican Bishop of London and representatives of the Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim communities.

They said: “Part of the role of faith leaders in communities is to provide spiritual and pastoral care for the sick and for the dying…Our pastoral roles make us deeply concerned about the impact the Bill would have on the most vulnerable.”

On Friday, MPs were due to vote on the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons. The MP for Spen Valley told the daily News Agents Podcast recently that “being concerned about being a burden” was a “legitimate reason” for assisted dying.

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