Assisted suicide cannot be legislated for safely and will put undue pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives, the Scottish Parliament has heard this week.
Michael Veitch, of the Christian advocacy group CARE for Scotland, told members of Holyrood’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee that the proposals are “inherently dangerous” and amount to a “crossing of the Rubicon”.
The committee has been hearing evidence on Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which would allow terminally ill adults in Scotland to request help from healthcare professionals in ending their life.
Mr Veitch warned that the scope of the proposed legislation is too broad and will “be interpreted beyond its policy intentions”.
He said that many people would feel an “invisible” and “internal pressure” to choose assisted suicide because of concerns about finances or the state of the NHS.
He argued that MSPs should work to set a “gold standard” in palliative care for all who need it in Scotland, and send the message to society that “we will take care of you” rather than “facilitating an early death with lethal drugs”.
“Our strong assertion is that this bill will have a very determinantal impact on very vulnerable people who will feel invisible pressure to consider an option that wasn’t there before,” he said.
Dr Miro Griffiths, disability advocate with Not Dead Yet UK, also appeared before the committee this week where he told MSPs that the legislation is “incompatible” with disability rights.
“Every life is worth living and every life should have support to go on living,” he said.
Dr Griffiths cited disturbing reports from Canada about people being pushed towards assisted suicide because they could not access adequate housing or support services.
“So many communities facing injustice will be presented with this as a choice, but it will seem like a path they have to go down due to the inequalities they face,” he said.
The committee will hear from the Scottish Government and Mr McArthur before producing a Stage 1 Report with recommendations for Parliament that are expected to be debated in the spring.
