Royal College of GPs neutral on euthanasia bill

Graham Adams reports:

The same day submissions closed, there was an announcement with great significance for the euthanasia debate but it failed to get attention. The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners — which has 4800 members, representing nearly 90 per cent of GPs — announced publicly in its submission that it had adopted a neutral position on assisted dying.

Unfortunately, you’d never guess from the headline on its press release — “College of GPs does not endorse euthanasia” — but when Noted asked the college it confirmed it was, indeed, neutral: “We are not taking a position either way. Our board decided it was a decision for members to make as individuals.” 

The spokeswoman conceded that the headline could be misleading “if that’s all someone read. It could be [incorrectly] construed as us being against euthanasia.

The biggest medical college in New Zealand taking a neutral position in public is momentous. As Auckland health lawyer and end-of-life researcher Pam Oliver told Noted: “That’s a major move by the college and will have considerable influence. The research evidence is pretty clear that a neutral or supportive stance by the relevant medical association, or college, is pivotal in doctors feeling comfortable to engage in providing assisted dying services. Anecdotally, it also appears to have a strong influence on whether politicians will vote in favour of legal AD.”

This is a very significant development. To have the largest medical college move from opposition to neutrality is a big thing.