Christian charity CARE for Scotland has warned that proposed laws on assisted suicide comprises “serious dangers” which have “not been addressed” by proponents of the changes.
Last November MPs in Westminster voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that will allow terminally sick adults to finish their life with the assistance of medical professionals. The bill passed second reading, but has not yet grow to be law.
As that bill, if passed, would only apply in England and Wales, a separate try and get an analogous law on the books in Scotland has been initiated by Liam McArthur, a Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
McArthur last week faced questions on the proposed latest law from the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament.
Dr Stuart Weir, Head of CARE for Scotland, said there “problems” with the laws and that McArthur had “didn’t articulate how his laws would avoid the abuses forecasted by experts who oppose a change within the law”.
“This should concern parliament,” he said.Â
“Mr McArthur said he’s ‘fairly confident’ that the coercion of vulnerable Scots could be caught. This comment was removed from reassuring.
“We overlook how overwhelmed medical professionals could spot the signs of coercive control – a criminal offense that is usually by nature subtle and hard to detect, going down behind closed doors.
“Neither legal clauses, nor tick box exercises by medics, could rule out people facing insidious pressure to finish their lives by assisted suicide.”Â
He said it was likely that individuals would feel pressured to finish their lives in the event that they were unable to access palliative care at the top of their lives, and that this risk made the proposals “unworkable”.Â
“Assisted suicide would create a two-tier society where some persons are counselled not to finish their lives and offered help, and others are led to feel that their lives aren’t price living and given lethal drugs,” said Dr Weir.
“This moral shift could be regressive and it is particularly dangerous for groups who already face negative value judgments.
“We imagine one of the simplest ways forward is to uphold blanket suicide prevention and ensure higher, life-affirming take care of all Scots.”
The Scottish government, led by the SNP, has up to now declared itself to be neutral on the difficulty. However First Minister John Swinney has conceded that the potential for the law applying to 16 12 months olds is a “significant issue”.
