They've ignored you...

You and 30,000 others wanted the British Medical Association (BMA) to have a full and proper debate on assisted dying last week. And did they? No. After just 10 minutes of debate, the BMA chose to remain opposed to assisted dying. By making this decision, the BMA is not only wilfully ignoring the evidence but also the suffering of dying patients. And why? Because the BMA is, according to one member, "not a patient focus group. OUR view on assisted dying is a matter for doctors only". But on top of this opponents of assisted dying speaking during the debate accused members of the public who were handing out briefings outside of "intimidation"...do the people below look intimidating to you? Smearing a small group of supporters outside a conference hall with claims of 'intimidation’ is not only offensive but ridiculous. It highlights the BMA's total dismissal of public opinion and how low some will go to oppose change. And there's more... On Thursday, the BMA were due to debate assisted dying and end-of-life care - with a particular focus on their recent 18-month long 'public' consultation. We would love to be able to say it was a good quality and constructive debate but, to our dismay, they chose to hold this debate behind closed doors - a odd decision given that this report is meant to 'contribute to the broader public debate'. Thank you everyone who signed the petition. It is simply unacceptable that you were ignored. If you're as outraged as we are we'll need you over the coming months as we plan our response - stay tuned for more!