Ask MSPs to oppose assisted suicide

Liam McArthur MSP has introduced an assisted suicide Bill to the Scottish Parliament. We're acutely concerned about this. Legal assisted suicide would be a seismic, and negative, ethical change comparable to abortion.

It's important that MSPs hear from their constituents. We've set up this web page to make contacting your MSPs as easy as possible. You'll find information below on how to contact them. We've also provided a briefing with tips on what to say. Please don't copy and paste these points. It is most persuasive to write to politicians using your own words.

If you feel able, sharing a personal story can make a huge difference. Perhaps a loved one's end of life experiences, or concerns about a vulnerable person you know. Even if you don't have a story, sharing your opposition to a change in the law will still help.

Please remember to:

• Use your own words
• Avoid hyperbolic or overly emotive language
• Speak the truth in love. (cf. Eph 4:15).

To find out who your MSPs are, visit Write To Them and type in your postcode. This will generate a page detailing you constituency MSP, and seven regional MSPs. Click on your MSP's name to generate an email template to fill in and send.

Make sure you also send an email to your regional MSPs, by clicking the 'write to all your regional MSPs' button. The content of this email will go to the seven MSPs who represent your region. If you receive replies from them, please let us know by emailing: mail@care.org.uk

Tips on what to say

These points can help inspire your thinking. Please use your own words when writing an email or letter to your MSPs.

• Experts in domestic abuse have written to Holyrood’s health committee to warn that an assisted suicide law could become a “lethal weapon” in the hands of abusive men. They argue that the “ongoing fear and trauma of coercive control” means women will not be able to “consent freely” to assisted death. And they note that doctors miss the “hidden” signs of domestic abuse. Disabled women are twice as likely to experience this crime.

• The charity Hourglass has said that “coercion is underplayed significantly” in cases of elder abuse. Older people, and especially those experiencing social isolation, are greatly of risk of feeling pressure to end their lives. It is also clear from other nations that many people pursue assisted death because they fear becoming a burden on others.

• Last year, hospice bosses warned that they are experiencing an “insurmountable funding gap” that means they may have to start turning people away. There is an acute danger that Scots would choose to end their lives by assisted suicide because of the healthcare inequality they face. This would not be a free choice.

• An expert review of cases in Canada found that people were pursuing assisted death because of “unmet social need”. Factors such as poverty, loneliness, and addiction affect the way a person’s self-worth and future prospects and will cause more marginalised members of Scottish society to feel pressure to die.

• Prognosis is fraught. Data shows that patients given six months to live are often alive three years later. There are also examples of people going on to live much longer than this, after wrong advice from medics. People would choose to end their lives through assisted suicide based on inaccurate information from doctors.

• A 2022 survey found that 75% of Scottish palliative doctors would not be willing to participate in assisted suicide, and 98% stated do not think it should not be part of mainstream healthcare.” A significant 4 in 10 also said they would leave the profession if it became available. This would have huge implications for Scottish healthcare.

• Many disabled people oppose a change in the law because of the regressive message it would send – that lives marked by illness, dependence, or decreased mobility are not worth living. They also fear the consequences of a law change in a context of poverty and inequality. The Glasgow Disability Alliance has said: “Given the inequalities and discrimination disabled people face, the majority of GDA members firmly believe that there are no proposed safeguards against assisted dying strong enough to alleviate disabled people’s fears that they could be seen as a burden and dispensable.”

• In places where assisted suicide is legal, doctors are prescribing dangerous and untested drug cocktails. Many patients who ingest them experience distressing complications and sometimes, prolonged death of up to 104 hours. With such evidence, how can we legalise assisted suicide? This is not an example of good medicine.

• Contrary to the clams of campaigners, distinguished experts stress that “palliative care works”, is effective in dealing with symptoms, and helps improve patients’ quality of life. They also note the danger of people opting for assisted death due to improper access to palliative care, and the need to bolster this support before a law change is considered.

More information about this topic is available here: CARE for Assisted Suicide | CARE