Christian charity CARE for Scotland has warned that proposed legislation on assisted suicide contains “serious dangers” that have “not been addressed” by proponents of the changes.
Last November MPs in Westminster voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that would allow terminally ill adults to end their life with the help of medical professionals. The bill passed second reading, but has not yet become law.
As that bill, if passed, would only apply in England and Wales, a separate attempt to get a similar law on the books in Scotland has been initiated by Liam McArthur, a Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
McArthur last week faced questions on the proposed new law from the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament.
Dr Stuart Weir, Head of CARE for Scotland, said there “problems” with the legislation and that McArthur had “failed to articulate how his legislation would avoid the abuses forecasted by experts who oppose a change in the law”.
“This should concern parliament,” he said.
“Mr McArthur said he is ‘fairly confident’ that the coercion of vulnerable Scots would be caught. This comment was far from reassuring.
“We fail to see how overwhelmed medical professionals could spot the signs of coercive control – a crime that is often by nature subtle and hard to detect, taking place behind closed doors.
“Neither legal clauses, nor tick box exercises by medics, could rule out people facing insidious pressure to end their lives by assisted suicide.”
He said it was likely that people would feel pressured to end their lives if they were unable to access palliative care at the end of their lives, and that this risk made the proposals “unworkable”.
“Assisted suicide would create a two-tier society where some people are counselled not to end their lives and offered help, and others are led to feel that their lives are not worth living and given lethal drugs,” said Dr Weir.
“This moral shift would be regressive and it is especially dangerous for groups who already face negative value judgments.
“We believe the best way forward is to uphold blanket suicide prevention and ensure better, life-affirming care for all Scots.”
The Scottish government, led by the SNP, has so far declared itself to be neutral on the issue. However First Minister John Swinney has conceded that the possibility of the law applying to 16 year olds is a “significant issue”.
