Support for assisted dying Bill may be high enough to pass first Holyrood vote

There could be enough support for assisted dying legislation to pass a first critical vote at Holyrood.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur is working to pass the controversial legislation at the Scottish Parliament, and despite being the third membr to attempt it, he says conditions “now seem to be right” for the change.

Holyrood has voted down previous attempts to give those who are terminally ill medical assistance to end their own lives, however the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is now set to be introduced in the “early part” of 2024.

Mr McArthur said: “It's one of those things where once we pass the legislation we will wonder why on earth it took us so long to get to this position."

"Overwhelming public support"

He acknowledged it wouldn’t be an easy move, adding: “We now know that there is overwhelming public support for this.

“We are seeing more and more instances of people being left in positions of going through undignified, intolerable deaths, or going down the route of taking matters into their own hands."

A similar proposal was brought through in 2010 by Independent MSP Margo Macdonald, but was rejected by 85 votes to 16 at stage one, while a subsequent attempt from Green MSP Patrick Harvie was defeated by 82 votes to 36 in 2015.

However, since those attempts, there have been two Holyrood elections, so Mr McArthur believes are two thirds of current MSPs had not had the chance to vote on the matter.

Parliament has a "responsibility" to gather support

He said: “I think there is now a sense when I speak to colleagues, those who are still undecided do now appear to be looking for reasons to support rather than reasons to oppose, which was very much the feel last time round."

For any Bill to become law, Holyrood has to first approve its general principles, before then considering the issues in more detail with amendments at stage two and stage three of the legislative process, before a final vote.

The Orkney MSP argued Parliament has a “responsibility” to see whether they could draft a Bill with both cross party and public support, which requires getting to the amendment stage.

He continued by suggesting the government here allows people to travel to Switzerland to “outsource” the issue of assisted dying to clinics like Dignitas, while people who are not able to afford travel are left with no option but to “take matters into their own hands”.

"Informed decision without pressure or coercion"

While his Bill has not yet been introduced to the Scottish Parliament, the consultation for it suggested two doctors would be required to certify a person is terminally ill, with two doctors also having to agree they have the mental capacity required to request an assisted death, and that they are making an "informed decision without pressure or coercion".

A "reflection period" would then take place before a doctor would prescribe the necessary medication, which the person would have to be able to take themselves.

With powers over the drugs to be used reserved to Westminster under Misuse of Drugs legislation, Mr McArthur has been in contact with the Scotland Office about this and other areas of his Bill.

He added that these "initial conversations" had been constructive, with the MSP saying: "They welcomed the fact that I was approaching them early in the process."

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