Meeting of the Parliament 13 May 2025
This has been a difficult speech to write, and it will be difficult to deliver.
Unlike some members whom we might hear from in the chamber today, I, thankfully, do not have personal experience of any of my loved ones suffering a bad death. However, I strongly support the bill because I believe in giving terminally ill people the right to choose a dignified and peaceful death. I cannot, in good conscience, deny them that right. I say to those who are conflicted on what decision to make today that they do not even have to agree or like what has been proposed in the bill, but I ask that they please do not deny terminally ill people their right to choose.
As co-convener of the cross-party group on end of life choices, I know that the bill represents the culmination of years of meticulous research and cross-sector consultation. I commend the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee for its stage 1 report, which was fair and balanced.
The bill is not a leap into the unknown; it is a cautious, evidence-based step forward. Voluntary assisted dying is grounded in international best practice, and it builds on proven models in Australia, the United States and other jurisdictions. It has been developed through extensive consultation with experts and those with lived experience of terminal illness. The framework that it proposes is safe, compassionate and practical.
The decision that members will make today is very personal, and I respect those who feel that they have a dilemma and cannot vote for the general principles. Voluntary assisted dying is not mandatory but a choice, so I can only assume that opposition is based on religious conviction or the fear of coercion.
To address that point directly, international experts, such as Professor Ben White from the Australian centre for health law research, have clearly stated that there is no evidence of people being coerced into choosing assisted dying in countries where it is legal. On the contrary, the evidence—this is Government data, not anecdotal—shows that families often try to dissuade loved ones from choosing assisted dying. American doctor Ryan Spielvogel, who gave evidence at Westminster, told members of Parliament:
“I have never seen a case where I even suspected coercion.”—[Official Report, House of Commons, Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Public Bill Committee, 28 January 2025; c 101, Q76.]
He said that, if anything, it is families who are not ready to let go that put in place emotional roadblocks.
As an additional safeguard, the bill would introduce a new criminal offence of coercion, with a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, which no previous assisted dying bill in Scotland has included.