Meeting of the Parliament 27 May 2015
If, on the one hand, we see suicide as a bad thing and as something to be prevented but, on the other, single out a proportion of society for whom it is a good thing and a thing to be encouraged, it is clear that that changes our relationship with suicide.
There are challenges in managing life-limiting conditions—in relation to pain control, for example, and, indeed, the loss of personal control—but surely we must manage those challenges to ensure that everyone’s last days are fulfilling. Good-quality palliative care must be a right but, as others have said, we fall way short in that regard. We need only compare the availability of maternity care with that of palliative care to see the difference. We need the same quality of care leaving the world as we do entering it.
The bill would change the way that our society views suicide, making it a right rather than something that should be prevented. It is argued that suicide prevention strategies will remain, but certain people will be excluded from them under the bill. There is no requirement for them to seek help. Judgments will have to be made about the quality of life and what is subjectively seen as unacceptable alongside a life-limiting illness. The bill excludes people with a mental illness, who are deemed to lack capacity to make such a decision. Could that be discriminatory? If someone has a mental illness that is incurable and is causing suffering, they will be unable to use the bill. However the bill does not consider the impact of a terminal diagnosis on a person’s mental health and on their ability to face the future.
The bill is often compared with the Assisted Dying Bill in Westminster, but our law is different. Suicide is a crime in England; it is not a crime in Scotland. Therefore, there is an argument that assisting someone to commit suicide is not in itself a crime in Scotland. That is a grey area that the bill seeks to clarify. The argument is whether the assistance was the cause of death. If it was, that could lead to a charge of culpable homicide. However, it was clear from evidence to the Health and Sport Committee that the bill would not necessarily protect someone assisting another person’s suicide from being investigated and charged. For example, if there was a suspicion that the person committing suicide was coerced, even if they fulfilled the requirements of the bill, the person who assisted them could still be investigated and charged under the common law.
There are many aspects of the bill that make it unworkable, as is acknowledged by those who support its aim. I argue that clarifying the law in this way could have a number of unintended consequences and could lead to more prosecutions rather than fewer; indeed, it could lead to an increase in suicides in Scotland.
We fear death. Fear of the unknown is natural, but although a lot is known about death, it is seldom discussed, which makes the fear even greater. If our death was given the same focus and care as our birth is, a lot of that fear would be removed. We need to learn to deal with death and to appreciate it as a consequence of life.
I urge members to vote against the general principles of the bill.
15:38