MSP says he does not know if he is strong enough for wife to have assisted death

A former Scottish Government minister has spoken out about his support for assisted dying – even though he says he does not know if he would “ever be strong enough” for his chronically ill wife to request help to die.

George Adam, the MSP for Paisley, said that legislation progressing through Holyrood to allow terminally ill Scots to seek help to end their lives is “extremely personal” to him and his wife Stacey.

The couple, who have been married for 29 years, have long supported the idea of allowing those who are facing a painful death to seek help to die, with Mr Adam having formed the Cross-Party Group on End of Life Choices at Holyrood.

Mrs Adam meanwhile is a patron of Friends at the End – a charity which campaigns for assisted dying to be legalised.

She also suffers from four chronic medical conditions, having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 16, as well as suffering from asthma, high blood pressure and osteoporosis.

While the couple, who have two children and four grandchildren, both support Liam McArthur’s Bill to allow terminally ill Scots to seek help to die, Mr Adam said he did not know if he would “ever be strong enough” for his wife to take this option.

In an emotional speech at Holyrood, the MSP said: “Stacey and I support Liam McArthur’s Bill, not because it’s about us now, but because one day it might be.

“We hope that time never comes but if it does, if the suffering becomes unbearable, Stacey should have that right to choose how her life ends with dignity, with compassion and surrounded by those who love her.”

But he told the Press Association news agency: “I don’t know if I would ever be strong enough.

“It’s alright me talking about, and it all seems very academic, even though I’m bubbling in the chamber when I’m talking about it.

“But I don’t know if I could let go at that point, because my life changed the day I met Stacey.”

He added: “It’s not a case that MS is going to kill Stacey, it is more likely to be with her compromised immune system something else she will get, she is more likely to get conditions that would end up being part of this Bill.”

The SNP MSP, who has previously served as parliamentary business minister in the Scottish Government, argued that when people have a long-term medical condition where they are “inevitably going to die, why would we want to put them through that extra pain and suffering”.

He added: “I don’t want Stacey to ever go through that, should that ever happen.”

But he stated: “We’ve not made up our minds that if that was the case, I don’t think we’ve made that decision.”

His wife meanwhile said they were “nowhere near that”.

However she insisted assisted dying should be an “option” for people suffering from terminal illnesses, arguing that the conditions setting out who would qualify for such help are “strict”.

The legislation would require people to have two independent doctors certify they have an advanced, terminal illness – and that they also have the mental capacity to request an assisted death.

Mrs Adam added she is “disappointed” some politicians opposed to the proposals have “twisted” the debate to “suit their means”.

She stressed the proposed legislation is only for those with terminal illnesses, saying: “It doesn’t say if you are disabled, it doesn’t say if you are old, it says terminally ill. And of a sane mind.”

Mrs Adam added that the Bill “is to give people the option to do this with no hurt or pain for the family”.

Challenging other MSPs to back Mr McArthur’s Bill, she added: “If you’re not for it fine, that’s your opinion, that’s your choice. Other folk in your constituency might be for it.”