Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 28, 2023 / 12:45 pm
A majority of Great Britons are in favor of making assisted suicide legal, a figure that comes as British political leaders are debating whether or not to move toward legalizing the practice throughout the Commonwealth.
The poll results come from the U.K. polling firm Ipsos, which queried British adults in July. Poll respondents were asked if they believed “it should be legal for a doctor to assist a patient aged 18 and over in ending their life by prescribing life-ending medication that the patient can take themselves if certain conditions are met.”
Sixty-eight percent of respondents said “yes.” Just 17% of respondents said “no,” while 18% were unsure.
The poll results, first reported by the Guardian, are roughly equivalent to a similar poll the firm administered last year in which British adults were asked if it should “be legal for a doctor to assist a terminally ill patient in ending their life by prescribing life-ending medication.” Sixty-nine percent of respondents said yes.