MSP urges colleagues to ‘rise to the challenge’ in final assisted dying vote

The MSP bidding to give terminally ill Scots the right to assisted dying has urged fellow parliamentarians to “rise to the challenge” and back his Bill as it faces a final vote at Holyrood.

Liam McArthur’s Bill will go through its stage three vote in the Scottish Parliament at about 10pm on Tuesday.

A close result is expected, with all MSPs being given a free vote rather than being whipped along party lines.

As supporters of assisted dying gathered in the morning, Mr McArthur said that voting down the Bill would leave terminally ill Scots “more at risk, more isolated and more vulnerable”.

He told the Press Association: “I just hope my MSP colleagues grasp this opportunity to address a failing in the current law – the ban on assisted dying, which is leaving a small but not insignificant number of dying Scots and their families horrendous decisions”.

Some MSPs are still uncertain about how they will vote on Tuesday evening, he said.

Mr McArthur said the issue of assisted dying is “not going away”, adding: “I think it’s safe to assume that as we go forward, there are more people who find themselves facing horrendous decisions at the end of life who are desperate for more choice.”

He said, if his Bill becomes law, it would be the “most heavily safeguarded assisted dying law anywhere in the world”.

Mr McArthur continued: “I’ve carried with me over the last five years the stories of so many terminally ill Scots or their families who are desperate to see a change in the law.

“This is weighing heavily on me as well. But I’m hopeful that Parliament will grasp this opportunity.

“To date I think this debate has shown parliament at its best. I hope at this final hurdle MSPs can rise to the challenge, vote with their convictions and back a Bill that’s long overdue and desperately needed.”

Opponents of the legislation, who fear the impact of assisted dying on the disabled and other vulnerable groups, will also be gathering outside the Scottish Parliament in advance of the knife-edge vote.

Last week, MSPs made changes to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill in four lengthy sessions at Holyrood, with a total of 175 changes to the legislation agreed.

Mr McArthur’s proposals would allow for Scots to legally seek help to end their life, with the Bill requiring two doctors would have both to confirm that a person in terminally ill and has the mental capacity to make such a request.

Meanwhile, a change introduced last week would mean that people should be “reasonably expected” to have six months to live or less before they would be eligible for an assisted death.

Groups in the medical profession, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCS) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society, have made clear their opposition the Bill.

Earlier, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes urged MSPs to consider their views.

Ms Forbes said: “I will vote against assisted dying because the Bill is now riskier and less safe after MSPs rejected critical safeguards and outsourced essential protections for doctors to the UK Government.

“Doctors, psychiatrists, pharmacists and palliative care specialists – the people who would be tasked with implementing this – are asking us not to do it.

“These are the people on the front line of compassion in Scotland, the people who have dedicated their lives and careers to helping people in life and in death. They think this Bill is unsafe.”

She added: “I know MSPs are motivated by compassion, and so we should heed interventions from doctors and nurses whose whole careers are dedicated to caring for us.”

This is the third time MSPs have considered legislation on assisted dying, with two previous attempts having failed at their first vote.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of campaign group Care Not Killing, insisted such legislation “offers a vision of the future which has no place in a caring Scottish society”.

He added: “Vulnerable people who are sick, elderly or disabled, can so easily feel pressure, whether real or imagined, to end their lives so as not to be a burden on others.

“Parliament’s first responsibility is to protect its most vulnerable citizens from exploitation and abuse by those who may have a financial or emotional interest in their deaths.”