Assisted suicide ‘uncontrollable, unethical and unnecessary’, Scottish politicians hear

A Scottish committee scrutinising plans to legalise assisted suicide has been told that the practice is "uncontrollable, unethical, and unnecessary".

In written evidence to Holyrood's Health Committee Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of campaign group Care Not Killing Alliance (CNK), said that doctors have a “duty to preserve life, not end it”.

And he noted that many clinicians are strongly opposed to assisted suicide, fearing that it would create ethical problems, add to doctors’ workloads and undermine palliative care.

Dr Macdonald described assisted suicide as "uncontrollable", saying "once the principle is accepted, it is subject to abuse and extension as lines are redrawn and so-called safeguards are dismantled."

He said it is unethical: "saying some suicides are to be prevented and others assisted necessarily undermines suicide prevention initiatives and devalues lives".

And he said it is unnecessary: "end-of-life suffering and constraints on living with dignity are often rooted in a lack of access to care and support".

A consultation on Liam McArthur MSP's Assisted Suicide Bill closed last week. MSPs will soon begin Stage 1 scrutiny, which will include hearing oral evidence.