Almost two-thirds support legalising assisted dying in next five years – study

Almost two-thirds of people in England and Wales want assisted dying to be legalised for terminally ill adults in the next five years, polling has suggested.

The research comes as a Bill to give choice at the end of life is set to come before Parliament next week for the first time in almost a decade.

The new study, by the Policy Institute and the Complex Life and Death Decisions group at King’s College London (KCL), also suggested younger people are less likely to back assisted dying.

It demonstrated the changeable nature of some people’s views, with some of those voicing support saying they could change their minds if they felt someone had been pressured into choosing an assisted death or had made the choice due to lack of access to care.

Overall, the polling found a fifth (20%) of people asked said they do not want assisted dying to be legalised in the next five years while 63% said they do.

Just under a fifth (17%) of the 2,063 adults in England and Wales polled across two days in September said they do not take a side or have an opinion on the issue.

The majority (85%) of those who support a law change said people having a less painful or distressing death is a very important reason for their view, while a similar proportion (83%) say giving people more dignity at the end of their life is very important.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of supporters said legalisation is about people being able to choose how and when they die.

But the majority (72%) of those opposed to change said they fear vulnerable people could be pressured into an assisted death, while more than two-thirds (69%) feel health professionals should be saving lives, not assisting deaths.

Researchers said the polling shows the “moral complexities” people feel when it comes to this controversial issue, with concerns around the risks remaining among those who are broadly supportive of legalisation.

Overall, 61% of people polled said they would be concerned about some people being pressured to have an assisted death if the law was changed, including more than half (53%) of those who want the current Parliament to legalise it.

More than half (55%) of those who support a law change said they would be likely to change their mind and become opposed if it turned out someone had been pressured into choosing this option.

Concerns around access to good end-of-life care was also a factor, the research showed.

Just under half (48%) of supporters of a law change said they are likely to rethink their position if someone’s choice of an assisted death was motivated by a lack of access to other care.

A majority (83%) of those in favour of change said poor palliative care was an important factor in their support, including 47% who rate it as very important.

While 68% of those aged 35 and above said they supported legalisation within this Parliament, only 50% of 18 to 34-year-olds said they would support this.

The researchers suggested this could be due to the “greater salience of this issue for those at a more advanced stage of life, as well as their (an older person’s) higher likelihood of having experienced the death of loved ones”.

While two-thirds (66%) of white people said they would support a law change in the next five years, this fell to 46% among ethnic minorities.

Those with mental health conditions are deemed most at risk of being pressured to have an assisted death, according to the study, with 43% of the public saying this would be the case.

Other groups felt to be most at risk were older people (34%), those with disabilities (33%), people with chronic pain or long-term health conditions (33%) and those with a cognitive impairment (30%).

Some 59% of people said they feel assisted dying should be available on the NHS while 18% did not.

The researchers said there was no clear consensus on the possible financial impact to the health service of legalising assisted dying, with 25% of people thinking costs would stay about the same, and 18% saying they do not know.

Almost a third (32%) of people said they think overall costs to the health service would decrease if assisted dying was provided by the NHS.

Just over a third (35%) of the public said they would be more likely to support legalising assisted dying if it did reduce overall costs to the NHS, compared with 23% who would be less likely to do so.

The proportion of people who feel someone should not have to pay for their assisted death was almost double that of those who think patients should have to pay, at 44% compared with 23%.

Most people (55%) said they would support private healthcare companies also providing assisted deaths, compared with 24% who would not.

Just over a third (37%) of people said they would be against private companies getting public money for these services from the Government’s healthcare budget compared with 28% in favour.

The Government has already confirmed that MPs will have a free vote on the Bill, making a decision according to their own conscience rather than along party lines.

The research found that just under half (45%) of those in favour of change said they want their MP to vote for the law, with 29% saying they would rather their MP followed their own conscience when it comes to a vote.

Professor Gareth Owen, of KCL, said: “Two-thirds of the public look ready for a change in the law but preferences may be unstable in light of moral complexities and imperfect access to care.”

Professor Bobby Duffy, also from KCL, said the research shows that “while minorities of the public have very strong views in support or opposition, the majority are somewhat in the middle, either not having any opinion or only tending to support or oppose – views could shift quickly”.

KCL colleague Professor Katherine Sleeman said it is “critical that the debate on assisted dying considers the complexities involved in implementing this kind of reform”, including “the implications of legalising assisted dying in a context where many dying people struggle to access the care they need”.

– Research was carried out on September 18 and 19 2024, by the Policy Institute and the Complex Life and Death Decisions (Cladd) group at King’s College London, in collaboration with Focaldata.