Scottish lawmakers have introduced a bill that would legalize assisted suicide in the country – and many are warning about various aspects of the troubling bill, including that it could go so far as to redefine terminal illness to include those who are disabled.
The Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill bill was presented by MSP Liam McArthur on March 28. McArthur has touted the “safeguards” within the bill, such as the fact that only those with terminal illness may qualify for assisted suicide, a 14-day “reflection period” before a person is given suicide drugs, and that a doctor must sign off on the request to ensure there is no coercion.
However, of note within the bill is language that reads: “For the purposes of this Act, a person is terminally ill if they have an 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.” (emphasis added)
As Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition warns, McArthur’s bill “is deceptive because it redefines terminal illness to allow for euthanasia of people with disabilities who are not terminally ill and it provides full legal immunity to doctors or nurse practitioners who are willing to participate in the act.”
READ: Study: Assisted suicide can be painful, prolonged and inhumane
Schadenberg is not the only one speaking out about the proposed legislation. A coalition of various disability groups sent a letter to MSPs speaking out against the bill, saying:
The fear that [assisted suicide] as an individual choice will evolve into a societal pressure to make that choice, is real and justified. Changes in the type of people seeking [assisted suicide] show that over time, there is an increase in [assisted suicide] among those who are less well-off and for whom the cost of living actually means the cost of staying alive.
Dr. Fiona MacCormick of the Association for Palliative Medicine (APM) was critical of the euphemistic language within the bill, which purposely refers to “assisted dying” rather than “assisted suicide,” calling the language change “harmful and unhelpful.”
Catholic Bishop John Keenan warned that assisted suicide is an attack on the value of the human person. “Liam McArthur has today published a damaging Bill which attacks human dignity and introduces a dangerous idea that a citizen can lose their value and worth,” he said. “Assisted suicide sends a message that there are situations when suicide is an appropriate response to one’s individual circumstances, worries, anxieties. It normalises suicide and accepts that some people are beyond hope.”
If Scottish lawmakers do pass this bill, Scotland would be the first country in the United Kingdom to legalize assisted suicide.
