The Scottish Parliament has voted in favour of moving the assisted dying debate forward by a count of 70 to 56, with one abstention.
The bill, which was tabled by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, passed the first vote in the Scottish Parliament although even supporters wanted to see changes made before they wrre prepared to support it further.
The debate was held over five hours on Tuesday evening and passed by a larger margin than anticipated. This is the third time an assisted dying bill has been placed before the Scottish Parliament after failed attempts in 2011 and 2015.
“This is a landmark moment for Scotland. I understand that for many colleagues this has been a difficult decision but I believe the quality of debate has shown our parliament at its finest. This bill has been a long time coming but, at long last, it can offer that compassionate choice for the small number of terminally ill Scots who need it. I’m delighted but under no illusions about the hard work that lies ahead. At the third attempt this has gone through but further deliberation is required.”
said Liam McArthur in the wake of the vote.
The bill would allow terminally ill Scottish residents to be prescribed lethal drugs on the NHS, subject to approval by two doctors, and the ability to take the dose themselves. A 14-day cooling off period is included in the proposals.
The bill will now proceed to committee stage where elements, including the removal of the time limit for expected remaining life (a key element of the proposals in England and Wales), and the age at which a decision can be made (currently 18) are to be further debated. The Scottish bill defines terminal illness as an “advanced and progressive disease, illness or condition” from which someone could not recover and can “reasonably be expected to cause their premature death.”
The Assisted Dying Bill in England and Wales returns to Westminster this week, two months after architect and Spen Valley MP Kim Leadbeater agreed to postpone the implementation of the legislation until after the next election. The psychiatry community, who previously said assisted dying would ‘undermine’ the daily efforts of the profession to prevent suicide’ adding ‘those who have suicidal ideation at any time in life may be vulnerable to pressures to take their own life by the introduction of doctor-assisted suicide’ has formally withdrawn its support saying there are too many unanswered questions. Dr Lade Smith, the RCPsych president, said
“After extensive engagement with our members, and with the expertise of our assisted dying/assisted suicide working group, the RCPsych has reached the conclusion that we are not confident in the Terminally Ill Adults Bill in its current form, and we therefore cannot support the bill as it stands.
“It’s integral to a psychiatrist’s role to consider how people’s unmet needs affect their desire to live. The bill, as proposed, does not honour this role, or require other clinicians involved in the process to consider whether someone’s decision to die might change with better support. We are urging MPs to look again at our concerns for this once-in-a-generation bill and prevent inadequate assisted dying/assisted suicide proposals from becoming law.”