Just a few days remain until the Scottish Parliament votes on the controversial assisted suicide bill brought forward by Liam McArthur MSP.
Members of the Scottish Parliament are still engaging in debate and voting on amendments on the issue, but already the failure of some amendments has raised alarm bells among pro-life groups.
Right To Life UK said that it was “profoundly concerning” that MSPs have already voted down “an amendment that would have prevented people choosing to die because they feel a burden or are under undue influence or financial pressure”.
Of similar concern was the apparent refusal of McArthur to rule out doctors euthanising patients in cases where assisted suicide has failed. While it may seem that the two are the same, the distinction lies in who “pushes the button”.
Assisted suicide requires patients to administer deadly substances to themselves, even if it is in the presence of and with the permission of a medical professional.
When asked by a fellow MSP what doctors should do in cases where the deadly drugs fail to take effect, McArthur said, “I would expect the medical professionals to exercise the training, the judgement they have to make the patient comfortable."
Care Not Killing Scotland described the answer as a “shameful dodge” that could effectively mean “euthanasia by the back door”. Similarly, Anthony Horan, Director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office for the Catholic Church in Scotland, described McArthur’s comments as “an astonishing development”.
During the debate, a number of MSPs pointed to the experience of jurisdictions that have already legalised assisted suicide.
Conservative MSP Sue Webber, said, "In Canada, it has been found that palliative care resources were disproportionately consumed by MAiD [medical assistance in dying] requests, while non-MAiD patients had reduced access to palliative care. Research must prioritise how AD/AS legislation might indirectly affect care for people nearing end-of-life, with strategies to mitigate adverse impacts."
Meanwhile, Ruth Maguire of the SNP, noted that in Oregon the median time between ingestion and death is 53 minutes. However she also noted that in at least one case a person took more than five days to die and in a third of cases it is not known how long the death took.
