The pro-death lobby in Scotland just suffered another setback. Audrey Nicoll MSP has announced her withdrawal of support for Liam McArthur’s assisted suicide Bill.
As a former police officer and convener of Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee, the SNP MSP explained that her experience with the “most vulnerable” in society has convinced her that changing the law would result in some people being coerced into an assisted suicide.
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which would allow those deemed to be terminally ill who have been resident in Scotland for at least twelve months to get help from a medic to kill themselves, passed Stage 1 by 70 votes to 56. Several MSPs said they only voted in favour of the proposals to allow time for debate, and with Nicoll’s withdrawal of support, only six more need to follow suit for the Bill to fall at the next vote.
In an open letter to her fellow MSPs, Nicoll explained: “The reality is that some individuals will be subject to coercion and pressure, whether directly or indirectly and in ways which may be subtle and difficult to enunciate.”
“The bill has significant ethical, social and legal implications, and given the experience in other jurisdictions where practice has shifted away from that originally intended, I am not currently reassured that a timely post legislative scrutiny process would take place.”