Assisted dying bill: How do you decide between life and death?

Holyrood is fast approaching one of the milestone moments of this Parliamentary session.

In just over a month’s time, Scotland’s MSPs will be voting for the first time on proposals from Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur to introduce assisted dying.

The bill is centred around allowing terminally ill people in Scotland to be assisted in their death. It has restrictions on what conditions it would apply to, the person would have to be 16 or over and resident in Scotland for at least 12 months, as well as have the capacity to take the decision.

This is the third time Holyrood has voted on the issue – there was also a proposal in 2004 that didn’t get enough support to be introduced.

But the last vote on the issue was in 2015. Since then there’s been two Scottish elections, Westminster has started examining the issue following a bill introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbetter and, just last month, assisted dying passed its final legislative vote on the Isle of Man.

MSPs to vote on Assisted Dying Bill in May STV News

At Holyrood, this will be the first time that 86 of the 129 MSPs will have casted a vote on the issue. And for between ten and 20 of them, it’s still a decision they are wrestling with, meaning the bill’s potential to progress is on a knife edge.

One of those is Scottish Conservative MSP Miles Briggs.

“For us who then have to take a decision, it is a challenge and a lot of that comes down to the fact that we are representatives, we are not delegates and we’ll have to make our own mind up on what this means,” he said.

The Lothian MSP says he has concerns about the bill giving access from 16 years of age and he thinks progress needs to be made around palliative care.

He said: “I’m still undecided. Some weeks you come in and read briefing papers, you’ll have meetings and think maybe this is too big a step, too concerning for vulnerable individuals, for younger people as well who might be captured as this bill is over 16s.

“So these are things I’m concerned about and if the bill progresses through parliament, how it can be workable and how we can make sure it works for the health service as well.”

SNP MSP Michelle Thomson is also listening to all sides while she weighs up her decision.

“It’s a very hard decision. I think anybody who says it’s entirely clear cut, they are 100% sure, I suspect hasn’t looked into the issue enough.

“One, it’s a wide-ranging policy decision that we will vote on that will affect every single person in society, potentially, it may affect their children and their children’s children. So it’s really important that we get it right.”

The Falkirk East MSP also admits her instincts have changed since she started considering the issue.

She said: “I started looking at it and instinctively, I was in favour of it. I saw my mother die of cancer and all that she went through. I myself am ferociously independent and how I would like to have my final days.

“But I’m not making decisions just for my mother, I’m not making it just for me, I’m making decisions for huge sectors of society and that’s why I hope that everybody will look into the matter really carefully and consider all these constituent groups too.”

In the coming weeks, Holyrood’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee will release their report on the evidence they gathered on assisted dying.

Meanwhile, campaigners on both sides will continue to engage and try to persuade the MSPs as the clock ticks down to the vote in May.