The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. (Photo: Getty/iStock)
Members of the Scottish Parliament begin Stage 2 deliberations on the country’s controversial assisted suicide bill.
Liam McArthur’s bill for Scotland is separate from a similar piece of legislation currently being considered in Westminster for England and Wales.
Earlier in the year, McArthur’s bill passed Stage 1 of the Scottish legislative process by 70 votes to 56. However it must pass the committee stage and a final vote before becoming law.
On Tuesday MSP will start a three-week process that will commence line-by-line scrutiny and examine the 287 amendments that have been proposed for the bill.
Pro-life groups have condemned the legislation and have raised concerns that the proposals, and those in Westminster, will put vulnerable people at risk. Some legal experts have even suggested that both pieces of legislation may contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.
Catherine Robinson, spokesperson of the Right to Life UK campaign group, said the fact that over 250 amendments have been proposed is “a clear sign of how problematic the McArthur Bill is”.
Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, said, “Serious questions remain about the safety of this legislation and It is abundantly clear that no number of amendments can make this deeply-flawed Bill safe.
“The volume of amendments reflects deep-rooted and genuinely held concerns about this Bill and its risks for Scotland’s most vulnerable.
“No safeguards can fully protect the vulnerable. MSPs from all parties are raising the alarm. The broad range of amendments covering every part of this Bill demonstrates just how deeply flawed it is.”
Dr Macdonald urged MSPs to take this opportunity to really come to grips with the implications for society if assisted suicide were to become legal.
He warned that the proposal can never be safe, no matter how many proposed safeguards are implemented.
He also called for proper funding for palliative care, noting that all sides of the debate agree on the need for this.
Another apparent opponent of the bill, as it stands, is the Scottish health minister, who has said that the bill may not in fact be within Holyrood’s remit as matters relating to lethal drugs remain under Westminster control.
