Assisted dying bill should be ‘booted out’ of Scottish parliament
Holyrood Notebook by Edward Mountain
I’ve written in these pages before about assisted dying, the prospect of which looms larger than ever following a vote in Holyrood earlier this month.
For me it’s a very personal, raw debate, as someone who has looked death in the eye following a bowel cancer diagnosis, and was very fortunate to come out the other side.
And for many others across the country, the debate has moved from theoretical to very much real.
Now that MSPs (I wasn’t one of them) have voted the first stage through the Scottish parliament, the bill to make assisted suicide legal in Scotland has moved a step closer.
The debate itself in the chamber was good natured enough, and most of us admitted that on both sides of the argument there were very genuine and powerful contributions.
The next step will see the bill potentially amended by MSPs who either want to strengthen the aims of the bill, or to soften some of the approaches.
I won’t be suggesting any amendments at this point; there are just too many flaws with the legislation and, in my view, it ought to be booted out altogether.
It ignores so many fundamental points, not least Scotland’s dire provision when it comes to palliative care.
Across the country we rely on hospices who are essentially funded by the generosity of the public, and many of them are hanging on by their fingertips.
A national palliative care system should not depend on fundraising evenings and coffee mornings just for the right to exist.
An assisted dying agenda is completely incompatible with a system where palliative care is so underfunded and undervalued.
The risk of coercion is also not well enough addressed in the bill, whether that’s overt persuasion from malevolent relatives or subtle feelings and an environment created by things not actually said.
It may be presented as an option to die in this bill, but in reality – for many – it will become a duty to die.
People don’t want to be a burden on their family, and they don’t want to be a burden on society. It obviously follows that this law could be accessed by some who feel this way.
The full cost to the NHS hasn’t properly been considered, and it doesn’t account for the many conscientious objectors, from doctors and nurses to those working in care homes.
That’s before we even consider the many disabled people who feel, conscientious objectors or not, that this decision will be taken out of their hands and imposed on them.
And even if this bill is passed, it will be subjected to so many complex legal challenges that it may never get off the ground, all of which could cost the taxpayer some serious money.
But despite all this, I do believe the Scottish parliament will come to its senses and ultimately reject these proposals.
Only seven MSPs who waved it through at stage one have to change their minds to swing the pendulum, and I know many who said ‘yes’ did so with a heavy heart and with grave reservations.
Once more information about this flawed bill comes out, and more of its potentially horrific consequences are unmasked, many more MSPs will have little choice but to vote it down.
• Edward Mountain is a Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands.