SCOTLAND’S ASSISTED DYING BILL CONSULTATION

The consultation has now closed

READ THE LATEST ABOUT SCOTLAND’S ASSISTED DYING BILL

Liam McArthur MSP has launched proposals for a new Assisted Dying Bill in the Scottish Parliament. The proposed Bill seeks to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent Scots – because endings matter. The first stage of a Private Members Bill in the Scottish Parliament is a public consultation where anyone who is interested in the Bill can have their say.

The public consultation is a vital opportunity for Scots to have their say on the new Bill and make clear to the Scottish Parliament that assisted dying is:

  • Safe, fair and compassionate,
  • Wanted and needed by dying people, and
  • The only way to prevent specific kinds of suffering at the end of life.

The single most important thing you can do at this stage of the campaign is respond to the consultation.

We only need you to answer the first two questions (after your details in Section 1) in the section called “Your views on the proposal”.

>>> RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION NOW

It’s really important that your response is personalised and in your own words. Any identical template responses received from campaign groups will be recorded as a single response. It also helps to show how much legalising assisted dying means to you and the difference that it would make to people across the country.

It is so important that MSPs know the impact of the current blanket ban on assisted dying and how many people support a change in the law. In your own words it would be helpful to tell them:

  • You support assisted dying and are in favour of the proposals in the Consultation Document.
  • You welcome assisted dying being considered again by the Scottish Parliament and feel that now is the right time for an assisted dying law
  • Your personal reasons for supporting a change in the law. If you’ve seen first hand a loved one endure a bad death, if you currently have a terminal diagnosis or would want or need more choice if you were to receive one. It is very persuasive to include your personal experiences.
  • The current situation for Scots isn’t good enough. When suffering goes beyond the reach of palliative care, the current options – travelling abroad to die, refusing food and water to starve to death, secret suicides behind closed doors – aren’t acceptable to dying people. They want and need the choice of an assisted death.
  • Assisted dying has a proven track record in other countries that show it is safe, fair and compassionate. It is legal in other compassionate, democratic countries like Australia and New Zealand. Why should Scots be left behind?
  • The right approach for Scotland is to support and fund excellent palliative care but also to give people who face a bad death greater choice at the end of life.

>>> RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION NOW

  • The consultation opens on Thursday 23rd September 2021 and will run until Wednesday 22nd December 2021.
  • An on-line copy is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website (www.parliament.scot) under Parliamentary Business / Bills / Proposals for Members’ Bills and also at www.assisteddying.scot
  • British Sign Language (BSL) and Easy Read versions have also been produced and can be accessed at www.assisteddying.scot

If you have any questions about the consultation while you’re filling it in, do contact us at scotland.campaigns@dignityindying.org.uk

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Your support for the new Assisted Dying Bill in Scotland is vital. Together we can help rewrite the law on assisted dying .