There are pieces of legislation whose parliamentary consideration attracts a great deal of attention, often rightly so.
One such bill, I suspect, will be that brought forward by Liam McArthur MSP on the issue of assisted dying. Although, to date, I’ve had only a small number of constituents contact me about this, I know it is a subject many feel deeply about on both sides.
My own view on the principle of assisted dying is a matter of public record – this subject absolutely needs explored in detail, with a view to providing such an option for those with a terminal diagnosis. When a bill was last considered in the Scottish Parliament, I supported it at Stage One.
However, I did so making clear that I had significant concerns about the content as originally drafted. It is highly unlikely that I would have been able to support it at the final stage as I feared it would have been impossible to resolve a couple of fundamental problems therein, but I felt it important that we fully tested the bill and the possibility of improving it by amendment.
In the same vein, I intend to support the new bill at Stage One of the parliamentary process. Whether it retains my support as it completes its passage will be dependant on my being satisfied that it provides appropriate safeguards in a couple of respects.
My concerns centre on the possibility of coercion – that someone might feel compelled to end their lives for fear of becoming a burden on loved ones. That’s why I think it it’s important to have medical professionals with a personal knowledge of the person and their circumstances involved in any decision on ending their lives.
That said, we should not, in my view, be requiring doctors and other clinicians to participate in such a process against their own beliefs. Medical professionals are as entitled to hold deeply held views in this area as any of us, and to have those views respected.
To summarise, I believe that those with long-term progressive conditions, with no quality of life and who have made an informed decision, should have a means of ending their lives in a dignified way and on their terms. I will therefore support Liam McArthur’s proposals when they come before the Parliament.
But I will also be closely following the Stage Two process, during which the points I want re-assurance on will undoubtedly be explored.
