Left image – Wikimedia Commons: Official Portrait of Liam McArthur MSP
SPUC is urging Scots to speak to their MSPs to warn against the threat posed by Liam McArthur’s assisted suicide bill, with a first vote now expected on 13 May.
The first debate and vote on MSP Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill has been brought forward to 13 May.
SPUC is urgently calling on Scots to lobby their MSPs to vote against the “dangerous” bill.
The Holyrood committee reviewing the Scottish assisted suicide bill, having now concluded its scrutiny, declined to take a position for or against Liam McArthur’s proposed law, saying it is a “matter of conscience” for MSPs.
SPUC has advised citizens to meet with (or write to) their respective MSPs – one constituency MSP and seven regional MSPs – to lobby against the bill before it is too late. Leaflets may also be ordered from SPUC and distributed to help raise awareness in the next two weeks. You can order flyers online here.
A SPUC briefing and guide are also available for download.
McArthur’s bill proposes to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland for terminally ill people aged 16 or over. The definition of “terminal” does not include life expectancy – meaning that candidates “may not be approaching death for a considerable period of time”, the Holyrood committee said.
Its report, issued before the first debate and vote in May, warned that eligibility criteria could be expanded without MSP approval, leading to concerns about the “slippery slope”, evident in nations like Canada where over 15,000 Canadians are killed by assisted suicide every year.
“Human rights or other court challenges” may lead to “eligibility for assisted dying being extended over time”, the committee stated.
“Should the bill progress, we have highlighted a number of areas which we feel will require further consideration before the bill can become law”, MSP Clare Haughey, the convener of the committee, continued. “These include issues around human rights, coercion, eligibility criteria, provision of assistance, self-administration and conscientious objection for healthcare workers.”
Legal experts have said that McArthur’s bill “may be beyond the powers of the Scottish Parliament” to enact and would “be either unworkable or extremely dangerous”.
A disabled Canadian also issued a warning based on his own experience of being recommended assisted suicide by healthcare workers after facing years of neglect:
“Based on the vague and ineffective provisions in McArthur’s bill, I fear that the solicitation, coercion, and pressure I’ve faced to undergo an assisted death in Canada would be seen under a Scottish law”, said Roger Foley.
Foley was also “concerned that the definition of terminal illness in Mr McArthur’s bill… could be broadly interpreted”.
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