Liam McArthur’s assisted suicide Bill is in doubt, after the Bill passed Stage One by only 14 votes. This means only seven MSPs need to change their vote for the Bill to fall at the final (Stage Three) vote, likely later this year.
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill was widely predicted to comfortably pass Stage One, so the result will come as a major shock to assisted suicide campaigners supportive of the Bill.
Ahead of and during the debate, several MSPs made it clear that they were only voting in favour at Stage One to continue the debate around the Bill, and would only vote for the Bill at Stage Three on condition that there are significant improvements to the Bill before it comes back for its final vote in the Scottish Parliament.
This means that the McArthur assisted suicide Bill could well have insufficient numbers to pass the final Stage Three vote.
Last year, the Leadbeater Bill in Westminster passed by 55 votes, a much larger margin, proportionally, than on the McArthur Bill this evening, but following Committee Stage scrutiny, there are growing doubts that it will pass the final vote in the Commons, even after its margin of 55 at the first vote at Westminster.
A large number of MSPs from across the political spectrum came together to give powerful speeches against the Bill during the debate today. They made it clear that this dangerous and extreme change to Scottish law would put the vulnerable at risk and see the ending of many lives through assisted suicide.
Vote closer than expected
Although the Bill has passed Stage One, the vote was far closer than supporters predicted, and the Bill still has a long way to go. MSPs on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee will be able to debate and approve amendments to the Bill at Stage Two before the amended Bill is voted upon once more by all MSPs at Stage Three.
Campaigners have vowed to redouble efforts to ensure that the Bill is defeated and will have many opportunities to persuade MSPs to abandon this dangerous legislation.
Serious concerns remain about how this legislation would operate in practice, and the strong response from MSPs across all parties shows these issues won’t simply disappear.
Significant concerns remain around the definition of “terminal illness” as defined in the Bill – “advanced and progressive disease, illness or condition from which they are unable to recover and that can reasonably be expected to cause their premature death”.
Under the Bill, anyone with a terminal condition that could foreseeably end their lives, even many decades in the future, would qualify for an assisted death, including those with conditions such as anorexia, Down’s syndrome, and people with disabilities.
New Scottish polling shows that only 8% of Scots view assisted dying as a priority for Holyrood. In fact, it came bottom of 20 possible priority areas for MSPs the public were asked about. The NHS and social care, where real end-of-life care happens, are the first and third priorities.
In addition, a poll of 1,088 adults conducted by Whitestone Insight found that 61% of Scots are concerned that victims of domestic abuse “would feel pressured into ending their lives if assisted suicide were to be legalised” in Scotland. Concern was greatest among pensioners, with 83% of those over 75 saying that they were worried about domestic abuse victims being pressured into ending their own lives if assisted suicide is made legal.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said: “The Bill was widely predicted to comfortably pass Stage One, so the result will come as a major shock to assisted suicide campaigners supportive of the Bill”.
“Ahead of and during the debate, several MSPs made it clear that they were only voting in favour at Stage One to continue the debate around the Bill, and would only vote for the Bill at Stage Three on condition that there are significant improvements to the Bill before it comes back for its final vote in the Scottish Parliament”.
“This means that the McArthur assisted suicide Bill could well have insufficient numbers to pass the final Stage Three vote”.
“Last year, the Leadbeater Bill in Westminster passed by 55 votes, a much larger margin, proportionally, than on the McArthur Bill this evening, but following Committee Stage scrutiny, there are growing doubts that it will pass the final vote in the Commons, even after its margin of 55 at the first vote at Westminster.”
“This is just the first stage of a long journey through the Scottish Parliament for this dangerous assisted suicide Bill. We are now going to redouble our efforts to ensure we fight this Bill at every stage and ensure that it is defeated to protect the most vulnerable”.
“A very large number of MSPs spoke out against this extreme proposal in Holyrood today. They made it clear that this dangerous and extreme change to our laws would put the vulnerable at risk and see the ending of many lives through assisted suicide”.
“Serious concerns remain about how this legislation would operate in practice, and the strong response from MSPs across all parties shows these issues won’t simply disappear”.
“This Bill can and must be defeated. It still has a long way to go and presents an acute threat to vulnerable people, especially in the context of an overstretched healthcare system”.
