Ethics Chair resigns over Royal College of Physicians change in position on assisted dying.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

T

Professor Albert Weale

he Telegraph news reported that Professor Albert Weale, the chair of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) ethics committee, resigned his position over the RCP change of position on assisted suicide.

An article by Tim Wyatt in the Telegraph reported that:

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) announced last month it was abandoning its formal opposition and would instead be neutral on the issue following a controversial survey of doctors’ opinions.

But now Albert Weale, an academic who chaired the RCP’s ethics committee, has resigned, arguing the decision was “not coherent” and “unfair”.

The Telegraph reported that Weale opposed the RCP change in position on assisted dying and how it conducted its "survey" that led to that change.

Prof Weale ... saw no reason why the RCP's governing body had decided to abandon its previous position, which stated the organisation could not support changing the law on assisted suicide.

the way the survey had been set up presented "considerable problems of procedural unfairness.

The RCP indicated that unless 60% of the respondents opposed assisted suicide that the council would move to a neutral position. The survey found that 43% opposed assisted suicide, 32% supported a change in the law and 25% were undecided.
 
A survey with three options that requires a 60% vote to maintain a current position is designed to obtain change.

The Ethics committee opposed changing the position on assisted suicide but the RCP ignored the advice of the ethics committee and established a survey that was designed to obtain a change in policy. Weale stated that there was no point in the committee offering reasoned positions on issues when the RCP ignores their reasoning.