MSPs prepare for final vote on assisted dying bill

MSPs are preparing for the final vote on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill today. 

The bill, which has been brought forward by Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, will be voted on at 10pm tonight. 

Following four days of debate last week, including a sitting on Friday, 175 amendments were accepted, including 83 from MSPs who opposed the bill at the stage one vote last May, which passed by 70 votes to 56. 

If passed this evening, the legislation would allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to seek to end their lives.   

The proposals would require two independent doctors to confirm that a person aged 18 or over is terminally ill and has the mental capacity to make the decision. They must also be satisfied that the individual understands their diagnosis and available options, has been offered appropriate palliative and social care, and is acting voluntarily without coercion or pressure – including financial concerns or feeling that they are a burden – before assistance can be provided. 

Eligible adults must also have been a resident of Scotland for at least 12 months and be registered with a Scottish GP.   

A person will only be considered terminally ill if they have an advanced, progressive condition from which they cannot recover and that is reasonably expected to cause premature death. Disability or mental disorder will not be enough for a person to qualify.  

Following the latest amendments, McArthur has described the legislation as “bulletproof”. 

However, Section 18 of the bill, which provided statutory protections for clinicians who chose not to participate in assisted dying, was removed after the Scottish Government said it was outside of the Scottish Parliament’s legislative competence. 

If it passes, a Section 104 order of the Scotland Act will need to be used to ensure these protections. This allows a UK Government minister to make secondary legislation that is considered “necessary or expedient in consequence of any provision made by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament”.  

Ahead of the vote, McArthur said: “When I launched this bill, I said that I wanted to deliver a robust and well safeguarded law that would give terminally ill Scots with mental capacity the choice of an assisted death if they wanted one. After five years of development, consultation, revision and amendment, that bill now sits before parliament. 

“Throughout this process, public support has been unwavering. This bill has the overwhelming support of a significant majority of Scots regardless of religious affiliation, political party or disability status. 

“MSPs have added detailed amendments on coercion, prognosis and protection of vulnerable groups, and there are cast-iron protections for healthcare professionals ready to go. 

“To my MSP colleagues, I want to say this: This is now the toughest and most comprehensively safeguarded assisted dying bill in the world. If you believe that dying people should not have to suffer against their will and you have heard, like I have, of the many instances where they have been simply failed by the lack of compassion and safety in our current law, you now have to back this bill. It is time to look terminally ill Scots in the eye and make this change.” 

On Friday, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland announced they opposed the bill, having previously taken a neutral stance. 

In May last year, First Minister John Swinney said before the stage one vote that he would not support the legislation.   

At the time, he explained he believes the legislation would “fundamentally alter the relationship between patients and clinicians”, which would “undermine” the role of medical professionals.  

He also expressed concern that the most vulnerable people in society might opt for assisted dying because they feel like they are burdening loved ones or the NHS, and that he is not “sufficiently confident” that the provisions would not go beyond what is currently proposed.  

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has also said he will oppose the bill.   

Last week, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay confirmed he would vote against the bill, after supporting it at stage one.  

He said he is concerned about the potential for people to be coerced into ending their lives and that it could lead to a “slippery slope” in which eligibility is extended over time. 

SNP MSPs Collette Stevenson and Audrey Nicoll have also withdrawn their support, while Davy Russell, who was elected in June last year following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, has reportedly told the Herald he will vote against the bill.