Scotland’s First Minister pledges to vote against assisted suicide

John Swinney has announced that he will vote against Liam McArthur MSP’s assisted suicide Bill next week.

The First Minister, who voted against both previous attempts to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland, said the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill would “fundamentally alter the relationship between patients and clinicians”.

In the Bill’s current form, those aged 16 or over who have been resident in Scotland for at least twelve months could get help from a medic to kill themselves if they are deemed to be terminally ill. McArthur has indicated that he will raise the age criteria to 18.

Family

Swinney stated: “I’ve come to the conclusion that I cannot support the bill and will be voting against it on Tuesday.”

The First Minister raised concerns that vulnerable patients may request assisted suicide out of fear of being a burden, and noted that he is not “sufficiently confident” that the proposals would not later expand.

He explained that his wife Elizabeth, who has multiple sclerosis, influenced his decision: “I couldn’t contemplate having a conversation about the question of assisted dying with my wife, knowing the health challenges that she faces and the fact that, as you all know, she has a terminal illness.

“I could not contemplate that conversation.”

‘Unsafe’

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also pledged to vote against the Bill, stating: “I think instead of this approach, we should be looking at how we properly deliver quality palliative care across the country.”

Dr Gordon Macdonald, Chief Executive of Care Not Killing, welcomed the recognition of the Bill’s “dangers”.

“This bill cannot proceed safely. The Scottish Government stated the bill is not fit for purpose when the Health Secretary told the health committee ‘the bill … is outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament’. MSPs should not sanction the progress of this bill which is not fit for purpose.”

The Stage 1 debate, when MSPs will vote on the Bill for the first time, is scheduled for 13 May.

Terminal illness

Last week, the Scottish Parliament’s health committee told MSPs that deciding how to vote on the assisted suicide Bill is a “matter of conscience”.

In its assessment of McArthur’s proposals, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee did not give any recommendations on the general principles of the Bill, but raised a series of concerns, including over “doctor shopping” and eligibility criteria being “extended over time”.

The Committee explained that since the Bill’s definition of terminal illness does not include a specific life expectancy requirement, patients who “may not be approaching death for a considerable period of time” could be eligible for assisted suicide.