The ODOC Podcast https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/ Dr. Gillian Wright, a former palliative care doctor, speaks with doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals about the issues and problems with legalising the intentional killing of patients by assisted suicide or euthanasia. Sun, 03 May 2026 21:55:46 +0000 en-US Our Duty of Care © 2025 - All Rights Reserved. Healthcare professionals opposing assisted suicide & euthanasia Dr Gillian Wright episodic Our Duty of Care campaign admin@ourdutyofcare.org.uk Dr Gillian Wright admin@ourdutyofcare.org.uk Dr. Gillian Wright, a former palliative care doctor, speaks with doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals about the issues and problems with legalising the intentional killing of patients by assisted suicide or euthanasia. Dr. Gillian Wright, a former palliative care doctor, speaks with doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals about the issues and problems with legalising the intentional killing of patients by assisted suicide or euthanasia. clean No https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/OurDutyOfCare-logo-3000px-1-scaled.jpg The ODOC Podcast https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/ GMC consultation https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/gmc-consultation/ Sun, 03 May 2026 20:50:07 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=5055 The UK General Medical Council is consulting on new draft guidance about personal beliefs and medicine. This includes changes to their guidance on conscientious objection.

How could these changes impact medical professionals who would not wish to participate in assisted suicide should this ever be legalised in the UK?

Dr Mary Neal, Reader in Law at Strathclyde University joined Dr Gillian Wright and other healthcare professionals to discuss the implications of proposed changes to GMC guidance on personal beliefs and conscientious objection in a webinar in April 2026. 

See below for video recording and downloads of key GMC documents
VIDEO - GMC Consultation on Personal Beliefs and Medical Practice – Our Duty of Care

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]]> Personal beliefs and medical practice full 13 The GMC is consulting on new draft guidance about personal beliefs and medicine. This includes changes to their guidance on conscientious objection.

How could these changes impact medical professionals who would not wish to participate in assisted suicide should this ever be legalised in the UK?

Dr Mary Neal, Reader in Law at Strathclyde University joined Dr Gillian Wright and other healthcare professionals to discuss the implications of proposed changes to GMC guidance on personal beliefs and conscientious objection in a webinar in April 2026.

VIDEO – GMC Consultation on Personal Beliefs and Medical Practice – Our Duty of Care

 

 

 

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]]> clean No no no 32:43 Dr Gillian Wright David Albert Jones – part 2 https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/david-albert-jones-part-2/ Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:49:46 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=5021 In part 2 Professor David Albert Jones discusses conscience clauses and no detriment provisions with senior doctors from the devolved nations.  Why these have been lost from the Scottish Bill, and what are the implications for doctors and health care organisations? Complex conundrums in Scotland arise when legislation regards assisted suicide as medical treatment or […]

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]]> Conscientious objection - medical conundrums arising from the Scottish Bill full 12 In part 2 Professor David Albert Jones discusses conscience clauses and no detriment provisions with senior doctors from the devolved nations.  Why these have been lost from the Scottish Bill, and what are the implications for doctors and health care organisations? Complex conundrums in Scotland arise when legislation regards assisted suicide as medical treatment or allows doctors to mention the option of assisted suicide to patients. Drawing on the experience of other countries Professor Jones explains why requiring a doctor to be present while a person takes the lethal substance, or not requiring them to be present, are ‘bad in different ways’.

Recorded as part of an online Webinar in January 2026.

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]]> clean No no no 24:01 Dr Gillian Wright David Albert Jones – part 1 David Albert Jones – part 1 https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/david-albert-jones-part-1/ Mon, 23 Feb 2026 02:52:39 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=5012 David Albert Jones, Professor in Bioethics at St Mary’s University in London describes the experience of assisted suicide in other jurisdictions. In Australia a time limit of expectation of death within  6 months (or 12 months for neurodegenerative disease) in Victoria in 2017 was expanded in Queensland in 2021 to 12 months for all patients […]

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]]> Slippery slopes in assisted suicide law, implications for Scotland full 11 David Albert Jones, Professor in Bioethics at St Mary’s University in London describes the experience of assisted suicide in other jurisdictions. In Australia a time limit of expectation of death within  6 months (or 12 months for neurodegenerative disease) in Victoria in 2017 was expanded in Queensland in 2021 to 12 months for all patients and further expanded in the Australian Capital Territory in 2024 to abandon any time limit. This rapid expansion should be a warning for MSPs. Even if a 6 month limit is included in the Bill, as belatedly seems to have been conceded, there is no guarantee that this limit will be maintained once the Bill passes. The evidence from Australia suggests the opposite. MSPs should not look only at what is on the face of the Bill but should also look at the experience of other countries and what is likely to happen in practice if the Bill is passed.

Recorded in January 2026 prior to Liam McArthur announcing intention to add a 6-month prognosis to the Scottish Bill.

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]]> clean No no no 17:14 Dr Gillian Wright Mary Neal Mary Neal https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/mary-neal/ Tue, 27 Jan 2026 21:00:25 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4984 Dr Mary Neal, Reader in Law at the University of Strathclyde, explains why Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying Bill (Scotland) will be stripped of conscientious objection provisions before MSPs vote on the final version of the bill. Westminster will require clauses relating to conscience to be removed from the bill before the Stage 3 vote. Holyrood […]

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]]> Conscientious objection removed from the Scottish Bill full 10 Dr Mary Neal, Reader in Law at the University of Strathclyde, explains why Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying Bill (Scotland) will be stripped of conscientious objection provisions before MSPs vote on the final version of the bill. Westminster will require clauses relating to conscience to be removed from the bill before the Stage 3 vote. Holyrood lacks the parliamentary competence to legislate for registered health professionals.

This podcast was recorded in January 2026 and describes a complex and evolving political situation. For more information contact info@ourdutyofcare.org.uk.

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]]> clean No no no 17:57 Dr Gillian Wright Anni Donaldson https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/anni-donaldson/ Thu, 01 Jan 2026 22:13:56 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4962 Dr Anni Donaldson is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde and an expert in domestic abuse and gender-based violence. She explains the dangerous intersection between assisted suicide and domestic abuse in Scotland where one in three adult women experience domestic abuse. She warns that assisted suicide risks putting an additional tool, a […]

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]]> The fatal intersection between domestic abuse and assisted suicide full 9 Dr Anni Donaldson is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde and an expert in domestic abuse and gender-based violence. She explains the dangerous intersection between assisted suicide and domestic abuse in Scotland where one in three adult women experience domestic abuse. She warns that assisted suicide risks putting an additional tool, a new ‘lethal weapon’, in the toolbox of abusive men.

Anni is also an independent freelance historian, researcher, online course author and developer, journalist and critic.

This podcast was recorded with an online audience of UK healthcare professionals concerned to protect patients from the risks of assisted suicide.

 

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]]> clean No no no 21:30 Dr Gillian Wright Ramona Coelho https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/ramona-coelho/ Fri, 12 Dec 2025 20:19:38 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4950 Dr Ramona Coelho explains the rapid expansion of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying programme and why the UK needs to learn from Canada’s experience.  Ramona is a family physician based in London, Ontario primarily serving individuals living with disabilities, mental health disorders, and other marginalised groups. She is a founding member of Physicians Together with […]

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]]> The UK must not ignore evidence from Canadas assisted dying programme full 8 Dr Ramona Coelho explains the rapid expansion of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying programme and why the UK needs to learn from Canada’s experience.  Ramona is a family physician based in London, Ontario primarily serving individuals living with disabilities, mental health disorders, and other marginalised groups. She is a founding member of Physicians Together with Vulnerable Canadians and a member of the Expert Advisory Group on MAiD for Mental Illness.

Dr Coelho is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal. In addition to her academic and journal publications, she was a co-editor of Unravelling MAiD in Canada: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide as Medical Care.

Dr Coelho speaks in a personal capacity, the views she expresses are her solely her own and do not represent any professional organisation with which she is affiliated.

 

 

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]]> clean No no no 42:05 Dr Gillian Wright Frank Cottrell-Boyce https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/frank-cottrell-boyce/ Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:11:08 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4900 Frank Cottrell-Boyce is the UK Children’s Laureate and multi award-winning children’s book author and screenwriter. He reflects on life, death and assisted suicide with palliative medicine Professor Mark Taubert. They share moving stories of challenge and hope and explore the language and culture of the assisted suicide debate.

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]]> Childrens Laureate reflects on assisted suicide full 7 Frank Cottrell-Boyce is the UK Children’s Laureate and multi award-winning children’s book author and screenwriter. He reflects on life, death and assisted suicide with palliative medicine Professor Mark Taubert. They share moving stories of challenge and hope and explore the language and culture of the assisted suicide debate.

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]]> clean No no no 29:40 Dr Gillian Wright Chelsea Roff https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/chelsea-roff/ Sat, 04 Oct 2025 21:42:37 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4894 Chelsea Roff is founder of Eat, Breathe Thrive, an international eating disorder charity. She co-authored the first systematic review of deaths by euthanasia and assisted suicide in people with eating disorders, describing 60 cases internationally. Suicide is a leading cause of death in eating disorders, leading to complex ethical and clinical challenges when NHS resources […]

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]]> How people with eating disorders have bypassed assisted dying safeguards. full 6 Chelsea Roff is founder of Eat, Breathe Thrive, an international eating disorder charity. She co-authored the first systematic review of deaths by euthanasia and assisted suicide in people with eating disorders, describing 60 cases internationally. Suicide is a leading cause of death in eating disorders, leading to complex ethical and clinical challenges when NHS resources are limited. ‘One of the heart-breaking things about this illness is the more severe it becomes the more a person resists treatment – resists the very thing that is going to bring them out of it’. Assisted suicide legislation may only be intended for a small group patients but eating disorders demonstrate why ‘the repercussions are across the bows of medicine’.

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]]> clean No no no 27:35 Dr Gillian Wright Hon. Robert Clark https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/robert-clark/ Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:34:58 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4888 Hon. Robert Clark, Former MP and Attorney-General from Victoria, explains concerning realities about voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in Australia. ‘Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil’. While the UK parliament is told that VAD has been an unqualified success in Australia, in reality there is lack of reporting and scrutiny of VAD processes, […]

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]]> Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia: hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. full 5 Hon. Robert Clark, Former MP and Attorney-General from Victoria, explains concerning realities about voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in Australia. ‘Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil’. While the UK parliament is told that VAD has been an unqualified success in Australia, in reality there is lack of reporting and scrutiny of VAD processes, with negative impacts on patients, health services and health professionals.

 

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]]> clean No no no 30:33 Dr Gillian Wright Irene Tuffrey-Wijne https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/irene-tuffrey-wijne/ Tue, 16 Sep 2025 23:14:52 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4871 Irene is a Professor of Intellectual Disability & Palliative Care in London. Her research into euthanasia cases in the Netherlands reveals why the UK needs to be very concerned about people with autism and mild learning disabilities qualifying for assisted deaths.

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]]> Its people with a mild learning disability I think are very high risk. full 4 Irene is a Professor of Intellectual Disability & Palliative Care in London. Her research into euthanasia cases in the Netherlands reveals why the UK needs to be very concerned about people with autism and mild learning disabilities qualifying for assisted deaths.

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]]> clean No no no 23:15 Dr Gillian Wright Mark Komrad https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/mark-komrad/ Wed, 10 Sep 2025 05:43:46 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4864 On suicide prevention day Prof Mark Komrad, clinical professor of psychiatry from Maryland, on the challenges of doctor-assisted suicide for psychiatrists and suicide prevention.  What can the UK learn from flawed safeguards in Oregon’s model of assisted suicide, where the law has expanded and where financial considerations often outweigh ethical concerns, creating a troubling precedent […]

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]]> Can a psychiatrist prevent some suicides but assist others? full On suicide prevention day Prof Mark Komrad, clinical professor of psychiatry from Maryland, on the challenges of doctor-assisted suicide for psychiatrists and suicide prevention.  What can the UK learn from flawed safeguards in Oregon’s model of assisted suicide, where the law has expanded and where financial considerations often outweigh ethical concerns, creating a troubling precedent in medical practice?

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]]> clean No no no 31:55 Dr Gillian Wright Mark Taubert https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/mark-taubert/ Fri, 05 Sep 2025 11:49:51 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4852 Prof Mark Taubert, palliative medicine Consultant in Cardiff and national lead for DNACPR decisions in Wales. Legalising assisted suicide would be like ‘throwing a hand grenade into our NHS’. Mark draws insights from his clinical, academic and strategic roles, and the impact of decisions made during the Covid epidemic.

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]]> Assisted suicide is like throwing a hand grenade into our NHS full 2 Prof Mark Taubert, palliative medicine Consultant in Cardiff and national lead for DNACPR decisions in Wales. Legalising assisted suicide would be like ‘throwing a hand grenade into our NHS’. Mark draws insights from his clinical, academic and strategic roles, and the impact of decisions made during the Covid epidemic.

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]]> clean No no no 24:13 Dr Gillian Wright David Randall https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/podcast-episode/david-randall/ Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:02:42 +0000 Dr Gillian Wright https://ourdutyofcare.org.uk/?post_type=sr_playlist&p=4784 David Randall, a consultant nephrologist working in London, speaks with Gillian Wright, about what really concerns him if assisted suicide is legalised in the UK

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]]> Consultant Nephrologist working in London full 1 David Randall, a consultant nephrologist working in London, speaks with Gillian Wright, about what really concerns him if assisted suicide is legalised in the UK

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]]> clean No no no 22:16 Dr Gillian Wright