Assisted Suicide - RCN opposition withdrawn.

[wilfb]

Well, there we have it.

The RCN has reportedly withdrawn it's opposition to assisted suicide.

I wonder where this leaves the profession as a whole, and of course the individual nurse, who may or may not be a member of the RCN. Will individuals have the right to opt out, or could that be construed as a breach of contract or professional duty?  And what of those who seek this course of action in the ending of their own lives - will they have the right to expect professional assistance?

Does the profession need to be involved at all? 

Will "Assisted Suicide' become a nursing curriculum item? Will nurses be expected to assessed on 'proficiency' in assisting...

Not all nurses are members of the RCN - and I believe that assisting suicide, rightly or wrongly, is still a criminal offence in the UK, carrying a maximum sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment if found guilty. 

Would it not be more sensible to simply de-criminalise assisting a suicide - I personally feel certain that the majority of nurses would be quite capable of making up their own minds about their position. Surely the official withdrawal of opposition by a professional body will put pressure upon all nurses not to oppose, and hand managers a tool with which to pressure employees to comply with management decisions, either for or against?

[backman]

A fairly deep and meaningful thread this time!
As I understand this issue,the RCN's decision is based on a recent membership consultation and I will be interested to see the actual number of responses which were involved.Despite a membership of nearly 400,000 for the RCN and far more registrants for the NMC most consultations or votes involving nurses are based on a significantly smaller number of responses.Nursing has rarely, if ever been a unified and active profession at agreeing what it thinks or wants( which is possibly why it receives the treatment and status that it does). Individual nurses will continue,as always to have their own opinions and beliefs but will deliver care based upon the legal,moral and ethical codes in operation and the needs and wishes of our patients.
This is another emotive issue rather like abortion which will polarise opinion to both ends of the spectrum.