Survey shows 78% support for bill across our country

A survey by campaign group Dignity in Dying found an average of 78 per cent support for the bill across Scotland, with the group saying this shows “an unshakeable majority of support” for the change.

Ally Thomson, director of Dignity in Dying Scotland, said: “The message from constituents to their MSPs is strikingly clear – it is time to change the law and vote to give dying people the choice of safe and compassionate assisted dying.

“The bill published today provides the compassion and choice dying people need and puts safety and protection in place where none currently exists.”

But Bishop Keenan said: “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.

“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.

“Furthermore, assisted suicide undermines trust in doctors and damages the doctor-patient relationship. In countries where assisted suicide is legal, there is evidence that vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, experience external pressure to end their lives.”

Dr Gillian Wright, a former palliative care registrar who is part of the Our Duty of Care campaign, also spoke out against the proposals.

She said: “The primary danger of assisted suicide is that individual lives are devalued by society because they are ill, disabled, confused, or that their contribution to society is perceived to be minimal.”