1 in 3 GPs would help terminally ill die

A THIRD of doctors would help terminally ill patients die with a lethal dose of drugs, it was revealed today.

One in 200 also say they have been involved directly in hastening the death of a patient.

The findings from a study published tomorrow follows a series of high-profile cases of Britons who have challenged right-to-die laws. Multiple sclerosis patient Debbie Purdy lost a High Court case in which she tried to clarify the laws on assisted suicide.

The research by experts at Queen Mary, University of London, comes ahead of new guidance by the medical regulator on end-of-life care.

Draft recommendations from the General Medical Council this Friday will advise doctors to do more to respect the rights of dying patients. Former health secretary Patricia Hewitt has called for a law change so terminal patients can go abroad for assisted suicide.

More than 100 Britons have ended their lives in the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland where it is legal.

In the UK it is illegal for a physician to give a patient a lethal dose of medication to end their life. But experts said the study showed overall, doctors do not support euthanasia.