MSP behind assisted dying Bill ‘pleased’ Holyrood will vote on issue this month

The MSP behind a bid to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill Scots has said he is “pleased” a date has been set for a key Holyrood vote.

MSPs will vote on Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill on Tuesday May 13.

Mr McArthur said after “four years of careful and diligent work”, he is “pleased” the Scottish Parliament “will now get an opportunity to debate and vote on the general principles of my Bill.”

If it becomes law, the Bill would give people at the advanced stage of a terminal illness the option of requesting help to end their life.

As it stands, the Bill would apply to those aged 16 or older and who have been resident in Scotland for at least a year.

While the proposals have been opposed by some, Mr McArthur insisted: “I firmly believe that terminally ill adults should have the choice of accessing assisted dying, alongside other palliative care and support at the end of life.

“Drawing on international evidence, my Bill offers people that choice in a way that is robustly safeguarded.

“The public polling is consistent across age range, disability status, geographic area and religious belief – Scots want a change in the law to allow terminally ill people the choice of an assisted death.

“This Bill has been a long time coming but, at long last, it can offer that compassionate choice for the small number of terminally ill Scots who need it.”

The stage one vote on May 13 will see MSPs decide whether they support the general principles of the Bill.

If the proposals pass this key hurdle, the Bill would then be subject to amendments, before coming back to Holyrood for another vote.

Ahead of the first vote, Mr McArthur urged MSPs to “listen to the voices of terminally ill Scots desperate for more choice, control and dignity”.

Adding that “many people across Scotland” have “witnessed the harrowing deaths of friends and loved ones”, he said politicians should “recognise that not changing the law has serious consequences as well”.

Holyrood’s Health Committee has been scrutinising the proposals, but in a report published this week said it would not make any recommendations on whether the Bill should be approved as it is a “matter of conscience for each individual MSP”.

However, the Better Way campaign group, which is opposed to assisted dying, branded the Bill “unsafe and unworkable”.

Spokeswoman Dr Ashley Frawley said: “Liam McArthur has stated that his Bill contains safeguards similar to those which have been safely and successfully introduced in countries such as Australia.

“But the State of Victoria recently outlined controversial changes to its assisted dying law, including allowing doctors to raise assisted death with patients under their care, and reducing conscience protection for doctors who do not wish to participate in the practice.”

Dr Frawley continued: “Mr McArthur has also failed to answer other serious problems with assisted dying. Some forms of coercion are almost impossible to detect, meaning older people and victims of domestic violence are at increased risk of abuse under an assisted suicide law.

“In addition, nothing in the legislation could prevent the injustice of marginalised Scots choosing to end their lives because they lack appropriate support from the state.

“For these reasons and others, we call on MSPs to reject this unsafe and unworkable Bill.”

John Swinney also discussed his own thoughts on assisted dying following First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.

He said the issue was a “very personal matter” and he would later be setting out his views on it.

Mr Swinney continued: “I think the Health and Sport Committee, as has Liam McArthur, have handled it impeccably.”

The First Minister said he would make his opinion on the issue “clear” in the period between the release of the report and Parliament’s Stage One debate.