McArthur writes to MSPs about timeline for assisted dying bill

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur has today written to MSP colleagues to provide an update on his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

In the letter Mr McArthur highlighted a recent report from the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee into assisted dying which noted that the introduction of assisted dying has been linked with an improvement in palliative care in several jurisdictions.

He also notified them that his bill will be formally introduced in the coming weeks.

Mr McArthur’s letter is as follows:

Dear MSP colleagues,

As you may be aware, last week the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee reported on its two-year inquiry into assisted dying. This report lays out in stark terms how the impact that the current ban on assisted dying is having on many dying people, and offers compelling evidence, I believe, in favour of greater agency and choice at the end of life.

I thought it worth sharing a briefing on the report’s findings, highlighting issues with the present law and the benefits offered by legal assisted dying for terminally ill people, which is attached for your attention. You can also access the report in full here.

In particular, I would draw attention to the Committee’s findings in relation to palliative care provision and the expansion of eligibility criteria in jurisdictions which have legalised assisted dying:

“In the evidence we received we did not see any indications of palliative and end-of-life care deteriorating in quality or provision following the introduction of [assisted dying]; indeed the introduction of [assisted dying] has been linked with an improvement in palliative care in several jurisdictions. We also conclude that jurisdictions which have introduced [assisted dying] on the basis of terminal illness have not changed the law to include eligibility on the basis of “unbearable suffering”. None of the jurisdictions which have introduced it have revoked the legislation.” (Committee Report, paragraph 142)

Finally, by way of a brief update, I will hope to be in a position to formally introduce my Assisted Dying For Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill in the coming weeks. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to discuss the proposals with many of you already, but should you wish to set up a meeting once the details of the bill are published, I would be more than happy to arrange this, so please do not hesitate to get in touch, or ‘collar’ me in passing.

In the meantime, I hope you find this note of interest and would welcome any comments or questions.

Kind regards

Liam