Exploring public views on assisted dying

Project aim

To deliver credible, well-informed, evidence of public views about assisted dying in England, with the goal of generating an informed public conversation on the issue and embedding the findings of the public engagement with key decision-makers.

Specific project aims

• To explore the public attitudes towards assisted dying in England and the circumstances and conditions where assisted dying should and should not be permissible; and to understand the associated social, ethical, and practical considerations that the public considers important in forming their views and deliberations.
• To identify the most up-to-date evidence and analysis of the diverse range of ethical views on assisted dying in order to inform the public engagement process.
• To inform future conversations in this area and embed the findings of the public engagement with key decision-makers to inform any future policy and practice related to assisted dying.

Primary project objectives

• To deliver two quantitative surveys and a Citizens' Jury with members of the public to explore attitudes towards assisted dying in England. This will include discussion of the circumstances and conditions where assisted dying should and should not be permissible, and work to understand the associated social, ethical, and practical considerations that the public consider important in forming their views and deliberations.
• To commission a series of authoritative and accessible opinion pieces on a range of ethical views on assisted dying.
• To engage government, media, and decision-makers (including professional bodies) on the findings of our report and public engagement, with the intention of informing future conversations in this area.

Specific objectives of the public engagement activities

• To conduct a nationally representative quantitative survey of the English population to explore and capture current attitudes towards assisted dying.
• To use these initial survey results to inform the recruitment stratification criteria for the Citizens’ Jury.
• To use the deliberative public engagement exercise to explore the views and deliberations of an informed Citizens’ Jury regarding:
  • the current law of assisted dying in England;
  • the circumstances and constraints where assisted dying should or should not be permissible;
  • the associated ethical, social, and practical considerations raised by assisted dying that the public considers important in forming their views and their deliberations.
• To conduct a second nationally representative quantitative survey of the English population to gather views on the recommendations and views of the Citizens’ Jury.
• To produce a report suitable for sharing that will contribute and inform current and future conversations related to assisted dying.