Assisted Suicide Vote

MSPs will vote later on whether to continue plans to allow terminally ill Scots the legal right to end their lives.

Opponents say the plans are full of problems, but those in favour say the majority of Scots "overwhelmingly" back the move.

Campaigners in favour of the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill will gather outside Holyrood this afternoon to urge MSPs to listen to the views of their constituents and allow the debate on the proposed legislation to continue when they vote on the issue this afternoon.

The call comes after opinion polling carried out by opponents to the legislation found that almost three-quarters (73%) of adults support proposals to legalise assisted suicide in principle, the same wording that will be on the text of the motion debated at Holyrood this afternoon.

Bob Scott, Spokesperson for My Life, My Death, My Choice said: “What we have been saying to MSPs is that the vote at Stage 1 is only on the principles of the legislation, not the detail, and even polling by opponents to the Bill shows over two-thirds of Scots are in favour of some kind of legislation.  Passing the Bill at Stage 1 would allow amendments to be tabled and debated to see if they can deliver the safeguards and protections that all MSPs, as well as those of us in favour of the Bill, want to see.”

“There have been some, perhaps presumptuous, predictions from others about how MSPs might vote on this legislation but we prefer to follow the advice of the Health & Sport Committee and give MSPs information to help them make up their own minds.”

“We hope that one of the things MSPs will take in to consideration is the views of the electorate, who are clearly in favour, and do not dismiss the Bill out of hand at such an early stage in the Parliamentary process.”

'Dangerously naive'

CARE for Scotland National Director Stuart Weir hopes MSPs "kick this Bill into the long grass."

He said: "We’ve got an aging population here in Scotland and legalising assisted suicide will put vulnerable people at risk.

“The legislation is simply not up to scratch and based on our estimates from the figures from Switzerland, once you open the door to assisted suicide, the evidence suggests the numbers just go up.

“We need to ask ourselves whether as a society legalising assisted suicide is the route we really want to go down.

“It’s easy to argue the take up here in Scotland would be low but the evidence from Switzerland, where the assisted suicide law is closer to the proposed bill here in Scotland, suggests that attitude is dangerously naive.

“Human life has value independent of circumstances, however difficult those circumstances may be and we should be trying to help people to live, not ushering them into premature death.
 
“MSPs should vote against this highly irresponsible Bill and take the chance to stand up for life.”