Assisted dying should be separate service, medical colleges tell peers

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By Aine Fox, PA Social Affairs Correspondent

Assisted dying should be a separate service if it is legalised and GPs must be able to opt-in rather than opt-out of participating, peers have been told.

Leading medical voices also warned that patients should not feel forced into a decision to apply for an assisted death based on lack of funding or resources for palliative care.

Representatives of three royal colleges gave evidence to peers in Parliament in the first sitting of a special House of Lords scrutiny committee, which is taking further evidence on the assisted dying Bill.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its second reading stage in the Lords last month, the furthest any such legislation has progressed through the Westminster Parliament.

But many peers remain opposed, saying the bill is unworkable as it stands.

In its current form the draft legislation, which applies only to England and Wales, would mean terminally ill adults with six months left to live could apply for assistance to end their lives, with approval needed from two doctors and the expert panel.