67% of Britons Prioritize Palliative Care Expansion Over Assisted Suicide Legalization

A majority of British adults believe that palliative care services, designed to reduce pain and ensure a peaceful end for terminally ill patients, should be universally provided to all citizens before any legalisation of assisted suicide, which allows individuals to choose their own death.

In a survey of over 2,000 British adults, 67% of respondents agreed that high-quality hospice and palliative care should be universally provided before any legislation on assisted suicide is passed.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said they were not confident that recipients of assisted suicide would be properly cared for due to financial and staffing shortages within the National Health Service (NHS). Fifty percent of those surveyed indicated that discussions on introducing assisted suicide should be postponed until palliative care receives adequate funding.

Only 44% of British adults responded that legalizing assisted suicide would make the UK a better place to live. Dr. Gordon McDonald of Care Not Killing stated that politicians should first improve the palliative care system before revising the law.

The poll results were released ahead of a vote on legalizing assisted suicide in the Scottish Parliament.