MSPs Reject Key Amendments to Assisted Suicide Bill
The Catholic Parliamentary Office has published a summary of the latest committee session for the Assisted Dying Bill. The Committee has rejected a raft of amendments that would have tightened eligibility and put important safeguards in place for vulnerable individuals.
The committee controversially rejected an amendment that would restrict eligibility to those with six months or less to live, a move that would align the bill with similar legislation in other jurisdictions.
Independent MSP, Jeremy Balfour, said that this leaves the definition of terminal illness in the Bill “extraordinarily broad”, adding: “as it stands it could include individuals who would live not for weeks or months, but for years. People managing long-term conditions, people receiving treatment that stabilises their illness, people who still have meaningful time ahead of them, would all fall within the scope of the Bill as drafted at the moment.”
It is vital that people contact their MSPs. This can be done easily using Care Not Killing’s email tool which has been updated following the committee session: https://carenotkilling.scot/