Holyrood assisted suicide Bill dangers not addressed

Serious dangers associated with Holyrood assisted suicide legislation have not been addressed by the Bill's proposer, CARE for Scotland has said.

This morning, Liam McArthur MSP faced questions about his Bill from the Scottish Parliament's Health, Social Care and Sport Committee.

Commenting on the evidence given by Mr McArthur at the committee, Dr Stuart Weir, Head of CARE for Scotland, said:

“In his evidence to the committee today, Liam McArthur failed to address problems with the legislation he has brought forward. There was no clear answer on issues pertaining to reserved matters and – much more significantly – he failed to articulate how his legislation would avoid the abuses warned about by experts who oppose a change in the law. This should concern parliament.

“Mr McArthur said he is ‘fairly confident’ that the coercion of vulnerable Scots would be caught. This comment was far from reassuring. We fail to see how overwhelmed medical professionals could spot the signs of coercive control – a crime that is often by nature subtle and hard to detect. Neither legal clauses, nor tick box exercises by medics, could rule out people facing insidious pressure to end their lives by assisted suicide.

"There was also no assurance whatsoever that people would not cave to pressure to end their own lives arising from the fact that they cannot access good palliative care."

Dr Weir added:

“Assisted suicide would create a two-tier society where some people are counselled not to end their lives and offered help, and others are led to feel that their lives are not worth living and given lethal drugs. This moral shift would be regressive and it is especially dangerous for groups who already face negative value judgments. We believe the best way forward is to uphold blanket suicide prevention and ensure better, life-affirming care for all Scots.”

ENDS

About CARE for Scotland

CARE for Scotland is a social policy charity, bringing Christian insight to the policies and laws that affect our lives.

Contact us: press@care.org.uk