Academic Journal
Exploring perspectives of Scottish medical students on the proposed 'Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland)' Bill.
| Τίτλος: | Exploring perspectives of Scottish medical students on the proposed 'Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland)' Bill. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Geddes D; Edinburgh Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. d.w.geddes@sms.ed.ac.uk., Knox J; Edinburgh Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom., Obree D; Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom., Harden J; Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. |
| Πηγή: | BMC medical ethics [BMC Med Ethics] 2025 Dec 11; Vol. 26 (1), pp. 173. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Dec 11. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101088680 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1472-6939 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14726939 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Med Ethics Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2000- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Suicide, Assisted*/legislation & jurisprudence , Suicide, Assisted*/ethics , Students, Medical*/psychology , Attitude of Health Personnel* , Terminally Ill*, Humans ; Scotland ; Female ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Legislation, Medical |
| Περίληψη: | Background: The debate over legalising assisted dying is complex and multifaceted, eliciting strong and diverse opinions from all involved parties. Recently, the Scottish Parliament held an initial vote on the issue, opting to progress with proposed legislation. Hearing the perspectives of medical students, as future clinicians, is crucial when considering new medico-legal developments in assisted dying in Scotland. This study aimed to explore and examine medical students' views on assisted dying in Scotland and the specific provisions of the proposed Scottish legislation. Methods: An online survey was distributed to students at the Scottish medical schools between October 2023 and January 2024. Participants were invited to respond to closed, quantitative questions, designed to assess specific attitudes towards the proposed legislation, followed by optional free-text fields for participants to provide qualitative explanations for their answers. These free-text responses were subsequently subjected to thematic analysis. Results: A total of 295 students responded to the survey. The majority of respondents were in favour of the legalisation of assisted dying in Scotland (72.4%); however, only 48.5% of respondents thought that assisted dying should be introduced into Scottish legislation as proposed in the current bill. Additionally, 23.4% of respondents indicated they would conscientiously object to participation in the process. A significant number of respondents (n = 135) expressed concerns that the proposed safeguards were inappropriate or insufficient. Autonomy was the most cited medical ethics principle underpinning opinions, followed closely by non-maleficence. Conclusions: The majority of respondents were in support of assisted dying, but a smaller proportion felt the current proposed bill should be implemented, due to different interpretations of the suitability of proposed safeguards. A significant portion of respondents' perspectives were based on information from their previous training and experience within healthcare. Other perspectives mirrored wider public opinion on end-of-life care and assisted dying principles. While a majority of respondents favour legalising assisted dying in Scotland, significant concerns remain regarding the specific provisions of the proposed bill, highlighting the complex and ethically charged nature of this issue. Key stakeholders and policymakers should actively involve medical students, as future medical practitioners, in the assisted dying discussion to help guide legislation and research. (© 2025. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was reviewed and fully approved by the University of Edinburgh Medical Education Research Ethics Committee (Ref 2023/22). The research was conducted in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration Informed consent to participate was obtained from all participants prior to undertaking the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: DG has previously received financial support from the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics for organising medical ethics events related to assisted dying. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Bioethics; Ethics, Medical; Legislation, Medical; Legislative Ethics; Palliative Care; Personal Autonomy; Right to Die; Students, Medical; Suicide, Assisted; Terminal Care |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20251211 Date Completed: 20251211 Latest Revision: 20260626 |
| Update Code: | 20260627 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC12699872 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12910-025-01322-1 |
| PMID: | 41382154 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1472-6939 |
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| DOI: | 10.1186/s12910-025-01322-1 |