How the proposed assisted dying legislation could work
Could the plans to legalise assisted dying actually become law this time?
What are the plans to legalise assisted dying? The proposals published by Liam Mcarthur set out the criteria for who would be able to receive lawful assistance to end their life and the process to do it. Those eligible must be aged 16 or older in line with the age of legal capacity in Scotland, have suitable capacity to request an assisted death and not been coerced into it and must have been resident in Scotland for at least 12 months and registered with a Scottish medical practice. This Bill specifically does not allow assisted dying for persons with any illness, condition, or disability, either physical or mental, other than terminal illness.
How would someone request an assisted death? If someone makes a request for an assisted death, two independent medical practitioners would assess them to make sure their clinical condition and mental competence meet the criteria and to make sure they have not been pressured into their decision. If both the medics determine that the person is eligible for an assisted death, the person must then make a second declaration requesting assistance to end their life. The Bill mandates a minimum 14-day period of reflection between the first and second requests, though this period can be shortened to no less than 48 hours if the medical practitioners believe this is necessary because death is imminent. Once all the conditions are satisfied, the medical practitioner, or another authorised health professional, may provide the terminally ill adult with the approved substance with which the adult may end their own life.
What are the other safeguards?
Under the assisted dying plans, any person seeking an assisted death may decide at any time not to continue with the process and any cancellation will be documented and recorded. The Bill specifies all the documentation that will be required throughout the process, including a final statement from a medical practitioner and the person’s death certificate. Mr Mcarthur’s Bill excludes criminal and civil liability for providing an assisted death according to the process it sets out, as well as making it a criminal offence to coerce someone into an assisted death.
What are the concerns? Critics have warned that legalising assisted death “introduces a dangerous idea that a citizen can lose their value and worth”. Opponents have also warned that the legislation would send “a message that there are situations when suicide is an appropriate response to one’s individual circumstances, worries, anxieties” and “normalises suicide and accepts that some people are beyond hope”.critics have claimed that in countries where assisted death is legal, there is evidence that vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, experience pressure to end their lives.