Tag Archives: assisted dying bill

Caron Lindsay

Liam McArthur wins right to bring forward Assisted Dying Bill to Scottish Parliament

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 11th October 2022 - 10:45 am

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur has earned the right to introduce a Members’ Bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people in the Scottish Parliament.

His proposal is supported by 36 out of the 129 MSPs.

Last month Liam  published the outcome of his public consultation on the proposals.  Out of 14,038 responses, 76% of individuals who responded expressed full support with a further 2% partially supporting a change in the law.

Mr McArthur will now work with the Scottish Parliament’s Non-Governmental Bills Unit to draft the actual bill which he hopes to introduce in Parliament next year.

Liam said:

“I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all MSPs who have put their names behind my proposed change in the law. The support among colleagues has been deeply heartening, and demonstrates the growing recognition that there is a need to end the ban on assisted dying in Scotland.

“The Scottish public has long been ahead of the parliament on this issue. The public consultation on these proposals, published last month, demonstrated that there is strong and passionate support for offering people more choice at the end of their life.

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 5 Comments
John Pugh

John Pugh MP writes…Why the Marris Bill on Assisted Dying failed

By John Pugh | Sat 12th September 2015 - 1:51 pm

I voted against the Marris Bill and found the result and the debate strangely heartening even though it’s an issue its hard to feel certain about. I will not rehearse the arguments presented but endeavour to offer a different explanation than offered by Norman Lamb for why the Marris Bill failed.

Firstly there was an implicit dishonesty in the proposal. No-one is against assisting the dying but if you arguing for assisted suicide you should call it that. Words ,as George Orwell said, matter. Conflating state-facilitated suicide with care of the dying even if the former is appropriate conflates a distinction which is both morally and legally important.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 23 Comments
The Voice

How did Liberal Democrat MPs vote on the Assisted Dying Bill?

By The Voice | Sat 12th September 2015 - 11:28 am

Yesterday the House of Commons voted to reject the Assisted Dying Bill at its first stage by a majority of 330 votes to 118.

How, then, did Liberal Democrat MPs vote? It should be noted that although the party has policy in favour of assisted dying in England and Wales, our MPs’ right to vote according to their conscience is enshrined in both motions. We have been criticised in the past for publishing who votes what way in these sorts of votes, but the information is a matter of public record and there is no reason that we shouldn’t draw it to our readers’ attention.

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 18 Comments
Greg Judge

The Independent View: Assisted Dying Bill – Open Letter to Liberal Democrat Peers

By Greg Judge | Thu 17th July 2014 - 8:18 pm

House of LordsTomorrow will see the Second Reading of Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords and many Peers including Liberal Democrats have registered to speak on this issue of compassion and respect for choice at the end of life.

This Bill and its passage through your House will serve as one of the most important chapters of society’s story of compassion, we want you to know that your Party overwhelmingly supports you on legalising the choice of an assisted death for terminally ill dying people.

It has been reassuring …

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged and | 11 Comments
Toby Keynes

Opinion: Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill – A measure of humanity

By Toby Keynes | Wed 16th July 2014 - 10:25 am

Sunset @ Adyar:When Lord Falconer put forward his Assisted Dying Bill, I had no idea it would generate so much interest. Similar bills have gone before the Lords before, and similar bills have failed, by a wide margin.

However, this bill is gathering a remarkable head of steam ahead of its second reading in the Lords this Friday, 18th July .

The Church of England’s General Synod’s decision to reject the bill and call for a Royal Commission is reasonably predictable, but it’s becoming clear that opposition to the bill is far from …

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Posted in Op-eds | 18 Comments
Stephen Tall

82% of Lib Dems back giving terminally ill adults the option of assisted dying

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th June 2014 - 9:00 am

Sunset at Kabini RiverLib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum  to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 830 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

Caron Lindsay wrote an excellent, balanced piece about the current assisted dying legislation here yesterday. Here are the results of our recent members’ survey on the subject.

82% back Assisted Dying Bill

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged | 55 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Assisted dying in the news both north and south of the border – last day for action in Scotland

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 6th June 2014 - 2:50 pm

Sunset @ Adyar:The issue of assisted dying is in the news on both sides of the border this week. Yesterday, Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords. This is a formality and the date for a full debate on the issue has not yet been set.

To mark the occasion, the Dignity in Dying campaign has released a very powerful video which highlights the choices we are free to make in life, but we can’t choose the manner of our death.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 14 Comments
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