SCOTLAND 
Private Members’ Bill for Assisted Dying in consultation

Guest article by “Friends at the End”*

Liam McArthur, a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), currently has a private members' Bill proposal, which aims to allow for assisted dying of terminally ill, mentally competent adults. This proposal is currently undergoing consultation in the Scottish Parliament. Friends at the End* are working together with a coalition of partners to assist the Member in this consultation.

Transparency, protection and compassion

When he launched his proposal Mr McArthur said:

“The proposal presented is one that co-exists with support for more and better palliative care and applies only to terminally ill, mentally competent adults. It has strong safeguards that put transparency, protection and compassion at its core and is modelled on legislation that has passed rigorous testing in other countries around the world.”

Some of the safeguards included in the Bill proposal are as follows:

• Two doctors must independently confirm the person is terminally ill, establish that the person has the mental capacity to request assisted dying, and assess that the person is making an informed decision without pressure or coercion.
• Two doctors ensure the person has been fully informed of palliative, hospice, and other care options.
• The person signs a written declaration of their request; this is followed by a period of reflection.
• The person must administer the life-ending medication themselves; it would continue to be a criminal offence to end someone’s life directly.
• Every assisted death would be recorded and reported for safety, monitoring, and research purposes.

What is not being proposed in this consultation is that terminally be linked to time. In 2018, as part of a wider review into social welfare payments the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland found that the rule, which was then in place, that a terminally ill person had to be within 6 months of dying to access some welfare payments, to be unfair and unhelpful. The Scottish Parliament supported his view and now when a terminal diagnosis is given, a person automatically qualifies for these payments regardless of how long the medical professional assess that person has to live after the terminal diagnosis. This has proved very helpful in framing the current debate on assisted dying and we would not expect to see any time limitations added to future Scottish legislation.

Citizens want to have a choice

Why is a Scottish law needed? It is calculated that around 11 Scots die a bad death every week. Those that are still able to often choose to travel to Switzerland to have the support they need at organisations such as DIGNITAS – To live with dignity – To die with dignity. Pre-pandemic, one person travelled to Switzerland from the UK every eight days in order to end their suffering and life. This traces a clear distinction between those who are still physically able to and who can afford to exercise their freedom to choose a peaceful end of life and those who simply do not have the ability or means to access that mercy.

We believe every citizen in Scotland deserves access to high quality and affordable palliative care, but also the right to choose when enough is enough, regardless of their socio-economic background.

87% of the public back the introduction of an assisted dying law in Scotland and with the British Medical Association (BMA) recently changing their stance from opposition to neutrality towards physician-assisted dying, Friends at the End believes the moment has arrived to change the law in Scotland and MSP Liam McArthur’s Bill offers us that possibility.

The way ahead

Introducing the consultation in Parliament in September was just the first step in a lengthy parliamentary process. The 12-week consultation is currently open to the public. All the responses will be analysed and collated by Mr McArthur, assisted by parliamentary officers. Their task is to produce a final proposal document which best fits the findings of the consultation and will form the basis of a draft Bill.

For the consultation process to move into the next phase, the final proposal document will need to gather signed support from 18 MSPs from at least two of the four political parties currently represented in the Scottish Parliament. (For reference, the consultation proposal was supported by parliamentarians from across all the political parties).

Only then will Mr McArthur have the right to officially submit a Members’ Bill to the Parliament and this draft Bill will have to undergo the normal three-stage scrutiny process that precedes any eventual approval and passing of a law.

The right to control one’s own end of life

Friends at the End believes that how we die is an issue for our whole society. Prohibition does not stop the practice of people taking action to control the end of their lives, it only drives it abroad or to alternative ways which results in deaths that are needlessly violent, unsafe and damaging to those who are left behind.

Dying is an act of life and any charter of rights that does not include the right of people to die with dignity, avoiding unnecessary suffering at the end, is fundamentally incomplete.

Friends at the End campaigns and works certain in the knowledge that in the future people will think of this era and wonder how people could oppose such an obvious natural freedom.

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* Friends at the End is a Registered Charity (SCIO) working in Scotland. Currently, assisted dying is not legal in Scotland and Friends at the End supports people to have a good death within the existing law.

As part of our charitable aims, Friends at the End has provided compassionate support and comfort to hundreds of people suffering distress towards the end of life. We are dedicated to increasing public knowledge about end-of-life choices. We assist with documentation including Advance Directives, Advance Care Statements and Powers of Attorney. We take part in education and outreach initiatives and host a telephone information line for those seeking clear guidance about their options for a peaceful death under the current Scottish legal framework. We also campaign for a change in the law in Scotland regarding assisted dying.

Newsletter 2021-4-2-e