March 7, 2023

Rising support for euthanasia marks UK as socially liberal

The Independent reports ‘rising support for euthanasia marks UK as socially liberal according to a new study.

Increased support for issues such as euthanasia and divorce mark the UK as one of the most socially liberal countries, in what must be a set-back for anti-choice campaigners.

Data from the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL) found that UK attitudes on suicide had also changed over time.

Attitudes are relatively less liberal on the death penalty, with more people viewing it as justifiable than comparable nations, the findings suggested.

KCL collated data from an international survey conducted across the past four decades, and found that the share of the British public who think euthanasia is justifiable more than doubled between 1981 and 2022.

Rising support for euthanasia marks UK as socially liberal

Support for ‘euthanasia’ has increased significantly, from 20% in 1981 to 47% now.

When compared with 24 other countries, Germany, Australia, and France were the only nations where a greater proportion of the population believed euthanasia justifiable.

Attitudes towards assisted dying in Britain have changed gradually since data was first collected in 1981, but there was a clear acceleration in acceptance between 2009 and 2022, when the proportion of the British public who found it justifiable rose by around 20%.

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: “Support for ‘euthanasia’ has increased significantly, from 20% in 1981 to 47% now.

“Assisted dying is, of course, still illegal in the UK, but it is seen as much more acceptable by the UK public than other illegal behaviours asked about in the study.”