Assisted-suicide scheme failing over fears victims would be coerced to die

A scheme to embed assisted suicide into the law in Scotland appears to be on the verge of failure over concerns there are not protections against people being coerced to die.

A report from the Christian Institute documents how lawmaker Audrey Nicoll recently announced she was withdrawing her support from the plan by Liam McArthur.

“As a former police officer and convener of Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee, the SNP MSP explained that her experience with the ‘most vulnerable’ in society has convinced her that changing the law would result in some people being coerced into an assisted suicide,” the report said.

It is the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill that would allow those deemed to be terminally ill who have been resident in Scotland for at least twelve months to get help from a medic to kill themselves.

It passed 70-56 on its most recent vote but critically, “Several MSPs said they only voted in favour of the proposals to allow time for debate, and with Nicoll’s withdrawal of support, only six more need to follow suit for the Bill to fall at the next vote,” the report said.

Nicoll told lawmakers in a letter, “The reality is that some individuals will be subject to coercion and pressure, whether directly or indirectly and in ways which may be subtle and difficult to enunciate. The bill has significant ethical, social and legal implications, and given the experience in other jurisdictions where practice has shifted away from that originally intended, I am not currently reassured that a timely post legislative scrutiny process would take place.”

She explained a number of amendments addressing her concerns have been rejected.

Dr. Gordon Macdonald, of Care Not Killing, said there’s “a growing apprehension among MSPs that the bill is not legislatively competent — a view held by health secretary Neil Gray.”

Already lawmakers have been warned the scheme “risks creating a society where people chose to end their lives through the NHS because they can’t get support to live.”

The Times has reported the future of the plan is very much in doubt because of criticism from lawmakers worried that Scots “could be coerced into ending their lives.”

Nicoll also warned of a “slippery slope” situation, in which assisted dying is legal, and suddenly, the circumstances under which it could be used would be expanded rapidly.

Exactly that has happened in Canada, which legalized the medical deaths a decade ago and now it is available to literally anyone at all.