New YouGov survey takes in-depth look at attitudes towards assisted dying
MPs are set to vote on assisted dying on 29 November, the first time the House of Commons has had a say on the matter since 2015, at which time it was overwhelmingly rejected.
It is not clear at present whether MPs will vote to implement the proposed law, introduced by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater as a private members bill, with the governing party split on the issue.
YouGov tracker data has consistently shown strong, bipartisan, support for legalising assisted dying for the terminally ill. Now a new YouGov survey looks a more in-depth look at the British public’s attitudes towards assisted dying, both in principle and in practice.
The results show substantial support for both assisted dying in principle, and the proposed law specifically. Indeed, many in the public want the option to be available for more people than the proposals currently allow.
Support for assisted dying in principle
Our study shows that 73% of Britons believe that – in principle – assisted dying should be legal in the UK, compared to only 13% who say it should not.
Firm majorities across all demographic groups are in favour of legalising assisted dying, with relatively little difference between them. Reform UK voters and Conservatives are more likely to be opposed (17-20%) than Labour and Lib Dem voters (8-10%), but more than two thirds of each voting group are in favour.
To drill down into the public’s stance slightly more, we followed up this question with an expanded version which allowed Britons to give their feelings both in principle and in practice.
When put this way, the majority of the public (59%) still say that they support assisted dying both in principle and in practice. However, 19% say that, while they support assisted dying in principle, in practice they are opposed as they don’t think it is possible to create adequate laws to regulate it.
A separate 7% say that they oppose assisted dying in principle, but in practice are willing to support it for those who want it. Only 7% describe themselves as being opposed to assisted dying both in principle and in practice.
Breaking the results down by how people answered the first, principle-only, question, shows that only half of the already minor opposition to assisted dying say they are opposed in both principle and practice (49%). A third (34%) say that their opposition is based purely on their expectation that adequate regulations cannot be introduced on the issue, and that otherwise they would be supportive, while a further 14% say that while they are opposed in principle, they are willing to cede for others who wish to end their lives.
By contrast, the large majority of those who say they support assisted dying in principle in our first question say they support it in both principle and practice (78%). Most of the rest say that they support it in principle, but in practice bear concerns that sufficient rules cannot be developed to govern assisted dying (13%).
The assisted dying law as proposed
While these first questions are abstractions, the survey also examined attitudes to the specific law that is coming before Parliament.
When given a brief summary of the specifics of the proposed assisted dying law and asked whether they support or oppose it, we get identical results to those for the question on whether people think assisted dying should be legal in principle: 73% support the proposed law, while 13% are opposed.
Again, the proposals MPs will be voting on garner strong support across British society.
Indeed, the results indicate that many Britons feel the proposed law is if anything too stringent.
While few object to the bill’s requirements that patients be of sound mind and give clear consent, with witnessed declarations to that fact, and approved by two doctors (5-7%), this figure rises to 26% on the necessity for a High Court judge to be involved.
And the public are actively split on whether the law should only apply to patients expected to die within the next six months (37% vs 40%), or that the patient must administer the fatal dose themselves (37% vs 36%).
Under what circumstances should assisted dying be legal?
With the terminal timeframe requirement the aspect of the bill that Britons are most sceptical of, where do Britons put the boundaries for when assisted dying should be allowed?
There is overwhelming agreement among the public that assisted dying should be permissible where a patient has “a terminal illness that is painful and/or debilitating”, at 83%. A similar 80% say assisted dying should be legal when a patient has simply “a terminal illness”.
A much smaller majority (56%) say assisted dying should be legal in cases where adults are no longer mentally competent (e.g. have dementia), but had previously expressed their wishes for assisted dying in their current circumstances.
A similar number (55%) say that assisted dying should be legal for patients with incurable conditions that are painful and/or debilitating, but not terminal. Among supporters of assisted dying in principle this figure stands at the much higher rate of 70%.
By contrast, just 19% say that assisted dying laws should be applied to children – even if both they and their parents consent. Half (51%) are opposed to allowing children to opt for assisted suicide.
Likewise, just 16% of Britons think those suffering mental health reasons alone, like serious chronic depression, should be allowed to apply for assisted suicide, with 58% opposed.
And only a hardcore of 10% of Britons say a patient should legally be allowed to access assisted dying “for any reason they want” – 71% of Britons don’t think the ability to have a doctor help you end your life should be universally available.
How many Britons feel the ‘slippery slope’ warnings will come to pass?
One of the key arguments against assisted dying legislation is that it will lead to a slippery slope, whereby rules are subsequently watered down, provision of alternatives becomes less well resourced, and society comes to expect people to choose to end their life rather than remain in palliative care.
One such claim is that the rules will be that the eligibility for assisted dying will be expanded beyond just terminal illness – as happened in Canada five years after a similar law was passed. Britons tend to agree with this claim, with 45% expecting such a legal change to occur, compared to only 32% who don’t think it will – although as we have seen from the previous results, this would be a welcome change for many.
The public are more divided on whether the initial safeguards will be loosened. While 34% don’t think safeguards like the number and type of people required to approve a request for assisted dying, or the waiting times involved, will be loosened, 38% think that they will.
Other concerns raised about assisted dying include beliefs that people will feel forced into ending their lives, with the former archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby saying “the right to end your life could all too easily – all too accidentally – turn into a duty to do so”.
This is something many Britons also see as a distinct possibility. Some 53% of people say it is likely that “significant numbers of vulnerable people will decide to apply for assisted dying primarily because they feel that they have become a burden to others”.
There is also a tendency to expect that “society will come to expect that some people suffering from certain conditions should be opting for assisted dying, rather than palliative care”, with 44% seeing this as a likely consequence, compared to 33% who do not.
On a more nefarious level, 37% think it likely that “significant numbers of vulnerable people will be pressured into to applying for assisted dying by people who stand to benefit from their death” – although a near-equal 40% consider this to be unlikely.
Concerns have also been expressed that legalising assisted dying would result in a decline in the quality of end of life palliative care. This is the argument Britons are least likely to feel has merit, with only 31% seeing as a likely consequence, compared to 39% who see it as an unlikely eventuality.
Those Britons who support assisted dying in principle are less likely to think that the slippery slope scenarios will come to pass than those who are opposed.
Most Britons want assisted dying as an option for themselves and their loved ones
The survey also shows that the public do not simply view assisted dying as an abstract right they want others to have – most are prepared to potentially make use of the option themselves.
Six in ten Britons (59%) say that assisted dying is something they would consider for themselves in the event that they had a terminal illness that was painful and/or debilitating – only 19% rule it out. Indeed, 76% of those who support assisted dying in suicide would potentially consider it for themselves, with just 8% saying they would not.
Britons are even more likely to want assisted dying available as an option for their loved ones in the event they had a terminal, painful and/or debilitating condition, with two thirds saying so (68%). This rises to 86% among supporters of assisted dying.
What do you think about assisted dying in principle, whether it can be implemented properly, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
