Scottish Parliament warned against ‘inherently dangerous’ assisted suicide proposals

Assisted suicide can’t be legislated for safely and can put undue pressure on vulnerable people to finish 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 might allow terminally ailing adults in Scotland to request help from healthcare professionals in ending their life.

Mr Veitch warned that the scope of the proposed laws is just too broad and can “be interpreted beyond its policy intentions”.

He said that many individuals would feel an “invisible” and “internal pressure” to decide on assisted suicide due to concerns about funds or the state of the NHS.

He argued that MSPs should work to set a “gold standard” in palliative look after all who need it in Scotland, and send the message to society that “we are going to maintain you” slightly than “facilitating an early death with lethal drugs”.

“Our strong assertion is that this bill may have a really determinantal impact on very vulnerable individuals who will feel invisible pressure to think about 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 laws is “incompatible” with disability rights. 

“Every life is value living and each life must have support to go on living,” he said. 

Dr Griffiths cited disturbing reports from Canada about people being pushed towards assisted suicide because they may not access adequate housing or support services. 

“So many communities facing injustice will likely be presented with this as a alternative, but it is going to seem to be a path they need to go down on account of 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 which are expected to be debated within the spring.