Assisted Dying Bill: What is it and how are Highland MPs planning to vote?
The assisted dying bill is set to be debated by politicians in Westminster tomorrow (Friday).
Passionate and moving arguments have been made in favour of both camps ahead of the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Advocates of assisted dying insist that being forced to live in a state of perpetual and ongoing pain and suffering is tantamount to torture, and robs people of their dignity, and that a person should have the right to choose whether they wish to live or die. And they question why a person is trusted to otherwise have agency over all other aspects of their lives, but that the state decides over something as intimate as whether they can live or die.
Polling has also shown strong public backing for the concept of assisted dying. A YouGov survey just last week showed that 73 per cent backed the idea in principle.
But those opposed to the bill argue that if its protections are not worded carefully it could risk putting undue pressure on people to end their lives who may not otherwise be considering it. They fear that unscrupulous relatives or friends might try to convince someone to end their lives in a bid to ease themselves of a possible financial 'burden'. They also raise concerns that some people may also pressure themselves into ending their lives, even without any external influence, or that protections against abuses of the bill might be watered down with time.
The debate has no easy answer, with strong arguments in favour of and against both stances.
And this has, inevitably, led to heated exchanges within the political realm and online - with what is an incredibly complex and nuanced matter being poorly served by the limited word counts of social media, and the weaponising of the debate by culture war warriors.
It has also been weaponised by ‘bad faith’ commentators eager to try to score political points through misinformation - with some falsely implying the private members' bill is government policy or backed by particular parties.
As with previous assisted dying bills that have gone before the Commons under past governments on the left and right - including when such matters last sparked a vote under David Cameron’s administration in 2015 - this week's vote is not being conducted along party-political lines and is instead a so-called 'free vote'. MPs are each being asked to vote as they see fit, and the various parties are not whipping their politicians to cast their votes one way or the other.
There has also been the added wrinkle of the so-called West Lothian Question, which has sparked controversy in the past when MPs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have voted on English matters, and vice-versa. The bill, should it pass, will change the law in England and Wales but will not apply directly to Scotland. Separate legislation, which is currently being discussed by Holyrood, would likely be required within Scotland.
However, whatever the result this week, the outcome is expected to strongly influence the debate on the matter north of the border, as well as the shape of Scotland's own possible legislation. And this has resulted in numerous Scottish MPs already confirming that they will ignore the West Lothian Question and that they will be voting on the English and Welsh bill because of this.
But which way are the north's MPs thinking of voting this week? We reached out and asked them ahead of time.
Jamie Stone, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, has confirmed he will be voting when the bill comes before the Commons. But he added that his position chairing a particular Commons committee meant he needed to remain impartial on the matter, and could not comment further before the vote.
He said: "The House of Commons has recently appointed me as Chair of the Petitions Select Committee.
"As assisted dying is very likely to be a matter placed before the committee in the future, I must be impartial and open minded as to the committee’s deliberations. For this reason, I will not comment on my stance prior to the vote.
"Nevertheless, I do intend to vote on the bill, rather than abstain."
Fellow Lib-Dem MP Angus MacDonald, who represents Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, is opposed to the bill, which he has described as a “slippery slope”.
“With care homes being cripplingly expensive and carers hard to find, might some unscrupulous heirs hope to speed up inheritance by encouraging an elder relative to consider this path?” he asked.
“Advocates of assisted dying argue that the legislation will not permit depressed individuals or disabled people to take this route.
“But if this law is passed, restrictions could be eased over time, as has happened elsewhere.”
He also queried whether NHS staff would be required to help someone to take their own life, and added that we should be investing more money to improve elderly and end-of-life care.
Graham Leadbitter, meanwhile, who is the SNP MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, said he was supportive of assisted dying in principle, but felt it was wrong for a Scottish MP to vote on a law for England and Wales only,
He said: “While I’m supportive, in principle, of assisted dying, as an MP for a constituency in the north of Scotland it would be wrong for me to impose my own views on people in England and Wales, the only UK nations where this proposed legislation would affect.
“In time, the Scottish Parliament will consider different proposals for assisted dying for Scotland, which MSPs will vote on.”
What is your view on the subject? Let us know at newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk
