Elderly should be given euthanasia "rewards," say one in 10 Britons The polling, by ComRes, was commissioned by the disability campaign group "Not Dead Yet" and the anti-assisted suicide alliance, Care Not Killing. It found that a majority of the public (54 per cent) support assisted dying in principle but that 58 per cent believe it would be impossible to create a system which is be completely safe from abuse by unscrupulous relatives or others which might put pressure on people to end their lives. Just under half of those polled said they believe hospitals should be allowed to administer fatal drugs to patients considered to have no prospect of recovery. Respondents were also asked whether they agreed with Martin Amis, the author, that elderly people should be rewarded for ending their lives. The question was a reference to remarks by Mr Amis in 2010 suggesting that there should be booths on street corners where elderly people could go to end their lives and that they should be given "get a Martini and a medal" for doing so. Overall 64 per cent disagreed with the idea of rewarding people for ending their lives with 10 per cent in favour and 26 per cent claiming that they did not know. The poll found that men are more than twice as likely as women to agree with rewarding assisted suicide and support rises to 14 per cent, or in seven, among people aged between their mid-30s and mid-40s. Seven per cent of the over-65s polled also backed the suggestion. Dr Peter Saunders, campaign director of Care Not Killing, said: "The most chilling findings of this poll, were the one in 10 who said the elderly should be encouraged to end their lives so they did not become a burden. This highlights the frightening undercurrent of deep prejudice that some people harbour towards the older members of our community. If there was any doubt about why it is absolutely vital the current legal protections that prohibit assisted suicide and euthanasia are maintained, then this one fact should be proof enough. The overall findings indicate that public opinion on assisted dying in Britain is more nuanced than headline poll findings suggest. Andrew Hawkins, chairman of ComRes, said: "The obvious conclusion is that while the public are broadly sympathetic to the rights-based argument in favour of ending lives at the time of a person's choice, there is widespread concern about the abuse to which any system is likely to be open. These concerns are apparent across three areas - by the medical profession, by unscrupulous relatives, and in terms of pressure to end lives prematurely and on diminishing palliative and other health care resources.