Assisted dying plans for 16 and 17-year-olds to be dropped by MSP

The MSP behind the Bill to legalise assisted dying is dropping proposals to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to end their lives with medical assistance.

Liam McArthur said he would raise the minimum age in the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill to 18.

If it becomes law, it would give people at the advanced stage of a terminal illness the option of requesting help to end their life.

As it stands, the Bill would apply to those aged 16 or older and who have been resident in Scotland for at least a year.

However, McArthur has now said he would raise the minimum age requirement.

He said: “I’ve considered this matter very carefully and reflected on both the evidence provided to the health committee and assisted dying legislation in place in other countries.

“In other jurisdictions that have changed the law to allow dying people access to the choice of an assisted death, such as the US, Australia and New Zealand, 18 is the age from which terminally-ill adults become eligible.

“On balance, I now feel that this would be most appropriate for Scotland.

“I anticipate this being presented to my parliamentary colleagues at stage two and urge them to vote in favour of the general principles of the Bill so we can begin the important work of refining the Bill and making sure it’s the most compassionate, safe and suitable law for Scotland.

“Our dying people deserve no less.”

First Minister John Swinney said last year the age threshold of 16 was a “very significant issue in my mind” that would have to be “wrestled with”.

MSPs will vote on the Bill on Tuesday May 13.

It will be the third time Holyrood has voted on whether assisted dying should be introduced, with previous bids to change the law having fallen at the first hurdle.

Similar legislation to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales is also being voted on by MPs at Westminster.

Last week, Holyrood’s Health Committee took a neutral stance over whether MSPs should vote for the general principles of the Bill.

However, it did say parts of the legislation would need ” further consideration” if the proposals pass and ultimately become law.

“These include issues around human rights, coercion, eligibility criteria, provision of assistance, self-administration and conscientious objection for healthcare workers,” Health Committee convener Clare Haughey said.

In their report, MSPs said “safeguards” in the Bill could be “strengthened” with independent oversight, such as by an independent review panel or by giving the chief medical officer a monitoring role.

Care Not Killing, a campaign group against the Bill, said the “scrutiny process of the Bill has been wholly inadequate”.

Chief executive Gordon Macdonald said: “With seven of the 10 members of the Health Committee having signed up to support the Bill when it was first proposed, it raises significant questions about the rigour of the scrutiny process”.

Dr Miro Griffiths, spokesman for the Better Way campaign, said: “Palliative care doctors, psychiatrists, disabled people’s organisations, experts in the care of older people and others have cautioned that a change in the law would inevitably lead to abuses against the most vulnerable.

“No number of safeguards could rule out coercion of patients through subtle pressure applied behind closed doors.”

He added: “When politicians have debated this issue in the past, they have always concluded that the risks of changing the law make it too dangerous to pursue.

“We’d urge MSPs to heed experts’ concerns and vote against Liam McArthur’s Bill at stage one.”