Assisted suicide laws discriminate against the disabled, says senior lawyer

A recent legal opinion warns that Scotland’s proposed law to legalise assisted suicide is discriminatory against individuals with certain disabilities.

Tom Cross KC wrote his legal opinion on Liam McArthur MSP’s proposals – that are separate to the bill currently being considered in Westminster – for The Christian Institute.

In it he argues that the law as proposed would contravene the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Suicidal thoughts are recognised as symptoms of certain disabilities and the proposed law could violate the best to lifetime of those with such disabilities, putting them at greater risk of assisted suicide.

The proposed bill, says Cross, “unjustifiably discriminates against those individuals whose disabilities manifest within the expression of suicidal ideation”.

Proponents of assisted suicide often bolster their case by pointing to proposed safeguards that might protect the vulnerable, nonetheless these have been described as “inadequate” by Cross in cases where an individual suffers from “greater vulnerability”. The bill may very well be open to a legal challenge, if passed in its current form.

Cross said, “The time for ensuring that the bill protects essentially the most vulnerable is during its passage through Parliament. 

“In our view, it is insufficient, on evaluation, to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach, by which the State may come to learn sooner or later whether rights of its residents have been violated. By that point the bill can be law, and the horse may have bolted.”

Legislation being considered by the Westminster Parliament has received an identical assessment from Cross.

The Westminster law passed the House of Commons earlier this yr, but is as a result of come before the House of Lords this month. The Scottish bill is currently on the amendment stage. It is unknown when the bill will finally be voted on by the Scottish Parliament, although some point in early or mid-2026 is probably going.

Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute, said, “This stark warning about discrimination against disabled people embedded on this terrible Bill must surely force MSPs into motion – especially those that voted in favour of the Bill at Stage 1 earlier this yr.” 

He added that the document “should set alarm bells ringing for them”.

“It shows authoritatively that, amongst its many other fundamental flaws, the bill discriminates against disabled people in a really specific way by failing to supply for any assessment of whether what appears to be a settled want to die is definitely a manifestation of their condition,” he said. 

MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy has raised concerns within the Scottish Parliament that the bill presents an “unsurmountable risk to disabled peoples’ equality and human rights”.

In a recent debate, First Minister John Swinney, speaking in a private capability due to the SNP’s official neutrality on the problem, said he shared these concerns. 

He said, “As Miss Duncan-Glancy will know, I don’t support the Assisted Dying Bill, and I don’t support it for most of the reasons that she has just placed on the record.”

He added: “These are issues that Parliament may have to wrestle with because it considers the laws. But, I can only express to her my agreement with the purpose that she’s made.”