MSP fears for disabled amid assisted dying bill

MSPs took a step closer to legalising assisted death in Scotland last week as a vote passed its first stage in Holyrood.

- HANNAH RODGER

For some campaigners the win has been hailed as a huge victory and the first step toward making the proposals a reality.

Liam McArthur, the Liberal Democrat MSP who drafted the bill, said it was a “landmark moment for Scotland” which could give terminally ill people a “compassionate choice” to end their lives with medical assistance.

Others say that such legislation could be the start of a slippery slope, arguing it devalues the lives of disabled people and those with chronic conditions and have raised concerns that people could be coerced into ending their lives prematurely.

While at this first stage 70 MSPs voted in support of the plans, 55 voted against. It will now have to pass two more stages before it can become law in Scotland.

In Holyrood parliamentarians gave emotive speeches about why they felt so strongly in favour of, or against, allowing assisted dying in Scotland.

Among them were Pam Duncan-Glancy, Labour MSP for Glasgow, who holds surgeries in Rutherglen

She made history in May 2021 when she became the first wheelchair user to be elected to Holyrood.