Gonville & Caius College Fellow Dr Zoë Fritz, writing in The Independent newspaper on May 16, says that the responsibility for administering the lethal drugs required to end someone’s life should not be added to the duties of doctors.

Read the comment piece, written with Sally Barker of King's College London, on The Independent website.

It begins: 

Most people in our society wish to see assisted dying legalised in the UK. And so, correctly, it is a current matter of debate in the Houses of Parliament.

Today, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is due to return to the House of Commons. Various proposed amendments will be discussed concerning the detail of how assisted dying would be carried out – including which safeguarding steps are needed.

One amendment which has not (yet?) been considered is whether doctors should be the ones administering the lethal drugs that are required to end an individual’s life.

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The piece is based off a paper which was published in The Journal of Medical Ethics.