The General Medical Council has been holding this consultation to find out views about new draft Guidance for the Investigation Committee and case examiners when they are considering allegations about a doctor’s involvement in encouraging or assisting suicide. his draft guidance is not addressed to doctors, but will be published on the GMC's website. It will be reviewed and revised in light of the responses the GMC receives to the consultation.
Assisting or encouraging a suicide remains against the law and this guidance does not change that. Neither does it mean that doctors are now allowed to encourage or assist a person who wants to commit suicide.
This guidance has been written in order to help the GMC to examine, fairly and consistently, any allegations that it receives about a doctor’s involvement in encouraging or assisting suicide.
The guidance sets out:
- the law on assisting suicide
- the ethical principles which underpin all the GMC's guidance to doctors
- the test that our decision-makers must apply when they consider such allegations
- the types of cases and the factors that may be relevant to their consideration
The GMC invited responses from anyone with a view about this draft guidance and was particularly keen to hear from people who are affected by the issues it raises. It will use responses to help produce the final version of the guidance in Summer 2012.
