Assisted dying Scotland: MSPs poised to 'wrestle with their conscience' with crunch vote on knife-edge
MSPs will “wrestle with their conscience” over whether to support Scotland’s assisted dying legislation, the politician behind the bill has warned.
The MSP behind Scotland’s assisted dying legislation has admitted some MSPs will likely go into next week’s historic debate and vote not knowing if they will support or oppose it.
Liam McArthur’s proposed legislation has begun its final stage of the Holyrood process after being supported at the first vote last May by 70-56 MSPs.
Those close to Mr McArthur remain confident they will have the numbers next week for the legislation to be approved - despite some MSPs who backed the bill at stage one now changing their mind.
Mr McArthur has said it was “disappointing” some MSPs were setting their position in stone before the amendments have been agreed for the final piece of legislation.
All parties have agreed to make the issue a free vote, meaning MSPs are not being whipped to take a particular position on the legislation.
Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay, who supported the legislation at stage one, has confirmed he is no longer able to back the proposals over “the risk that people could be coerced into ending their lives” and fears any regulations “could be widened by way of later court challenges”.
His move followed SNP MSPs Collette Stevenson and Audrey Nicoll in confirming they will no longer support the legislation next week.
Mr McArthur’s team is still confident that enough MSPs will back the legislation, but it could depend on what amendments are attached to the bill.
Speaking to journalists in Holyrood, Mr McArthur said: “Inevitably the closer we get to the stage three vote, MSPs will be wrestling with the issue to decide what they need to do.
READ MORE: Assisted dying Scotland: Here is how every politician voted on Bill at the Scottish Parliament
“Some were conflicted at stage one, and there were a number of colleagues who didn’t know how they were going to vote going into the chamber. I suspect that will be the same at stage three.
“But MSPs need to realise that voting it down doesn’t mean it goes away, it just leaves dying Scots more isolated, vulnerable and a risk.
“There are serious consequences of not backing this bill, that’s more heavily safeguarded than any assisted dying bill anywhere in the world. It is the right bill, and it needs to be backed.”
He said: “Genuinely there are those who you speak to them one day and they are in one direction, and the next day they are in another.
“There are amendments at stage three which will allow these MSPs to firm up heir position.
“I strongly suspect a number of MSPs are going into this uncertain on how they will vote.”
Mr McArthur added: “It is disappointing some MSPs are declaring their position before the amendments, but it is up to individuals to wrestle with their conscience.
“But voting down this bill doesn’t mean the issue goes away, far from it. It leaves Scots vulnerable, more at risk, and the personal stories we have heard from individuals were harrowing.
“I would ask MSPs that whatever their misgivings and anxieties are, whether it's coercion, a slippery slope, disabilities, the use of medication, none of that has played out in practice.
“I understand why we are having this debate but you can’t wish it away and leave it for another parliament to sort out.
“If you back the principles of changing the law, you need to back this bill.”
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