Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur will this week publish his bill to introduce assisted dying for people with a terminal illness in Scotland.
The Sunday Show devoted its entire programme to the issue today. First, Susie McAllister, who nursed her husband Colin who died of stomach cancer last year, spoke of how grim the last two weeks of his life was and how he wanted to end his suffering.
There have been a number of attempts to change the law in Scotland on this over the lifetime of the Parliament. Liam said that he could now feel that the political mood was changing. The public, he said, had supported such a change for a couple of decades but now many MSP colleagues were now willing to consider his heavily safeguarded measure.
He says that he is convinced that his Bill could pass although he is not going to take anything for granted. He detects from the conversations he has had that there is now a willingness to look at reasons to support the bill.
The ban on assisted dying at the moment is leading to too many people facing horrible, traumatic deaths that impact not just them but those that they leave behind and that is despite the very best efforts of those providing palliative care that we need to invest in and provide access to.
He explained that his Bill mirrors measures introduced elsewhere. The diagnosis, by two independent clinicians, would determine that the illness was terminal and that the patient had capacity and were making an informed choice, having considered all the issues.
He said that this should be part of the end of life choices available for everyone.
He added that doctors would be able to conscientiously object to being involved in the process. However, he did say that the measure had improved relationships and dialogue between clinicians and patients in countries where it had been introduced.
But what about people feeling pressured into an assisted death to spare their families?
Liam said that what we see where assisted death is in place, around 30% of people who apply for an assisted death don’t actually take it forward. It provides a reassurance that if things get intolerable, they have that option.
He said that he was also supporting Conservative Miles Briggs’ bill which would give a right to access to palliative care for everyone. He said it is not a zero sum game between palliative care and assisted dying and that where assisted dying measures had been introduced there had also been better access to palliative care. He sees the two things going hand in hand.
Given that Westminster has recently intervened to block Scottish legislation, Liam was asked if he was worried that we might end up with a Section 35 Order preventing the legislation being implemented if passed. Liam said that there would be a residency requirement of 12 months so that should address any concerns about people moving to Scotland to access this right. He recognises that there are issues to be resolved but the initial conversations he has had with Westminster and Scotland officials had been constructive.
Conservative MSP Miles Briggs was interviewed. He was concerned about conscientious objection and he wanted to see the detail on that. He wanted to look also about how this could be extended in the future. He talked about his own bill and how 1 in 4 didn’t get access to palliative care. He did express concern that an assisted dying measure would drain resources away from palliative care, but he was willing to look at the details of Liam’s bill.
The discussion took place in really reasonable terms and I just hope that we continue along those lines. I would have liked to hear also from someone like Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy who has expressed concerns about what the Bill could mean for disabled people. I hope that the limited scope of the proposal, which would only be able to be accessed by people with a terminal illness close to when they are expected to die will reassure her.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings