Scotland’s looser rules on assisted dying could lead to ‘death tourism’, say senior politicians | Assisted dying
Senior Scottish politicians fear there could be a risk of “death tourism” from terminally ill people coming from other parts of the UK to end their lives in Scotland.
A cross-party group of MPs, including Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, said looser controls on eligibility enshrined in an assisted dying bill for Scotland could attract people unhappy with tougher rules planned for England and Wales.
The Scottish bill, with a final vote expected in February, sets no time limit on who can request medically assisted dying, although people must have lived in Scotland for at least a year and have “an advanced and progressive illness, disease or condition from which they cannot recover”.
England and Wales’ policies, which are currently being considered by the Lords, state that a person must have died within six months. If Kim Leadbeater’s bill passes, it could take up to four years to implement, while Scotland’s measures could come into force several years earlier.
Concerns about so-called “death tourism” have been raised by Dr Claudia Carr, an expert in medical ethics at the University of Hertfordshire Law School. She said some terminally ill people could lead to Scotland having “a more positive climate for assisted dying and evolving accordingly”.
Edward Mountain, a Scottish Conservative MP, who recently revealed a bowel cancer diagnosis, said that if the Scottish bill became law there was a “real risk” that some terminally ill people could go there rather than follow the stricter rules in England and Wales.
“There is always a chance that people will see that Scotland, if this bill passes, which I hasten to say, I hope it does not, will be an easier place to end your life than the south,” he said.
Michael Marra, a Scottish Labor MP and another critic of the Holyrood bill, said it was likely to be vigorously contested when the bill reached its final vote, largely because attempts to tighten it had been rejected by MPs considering it.
He said these cross-border issues had been “extremely under-explored” by both parliaments and the UK and Scottish governments. “How the two systems might interact is a very complex question,” Marra said.
Forbes, a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland, said, while speaking in her personal capacity, that she was concerned that the broader definitions and lack of time limit would lead some people to unnecessarily choose medically assisted dying.
“People with potentially a few years to live could choose medical assistance in dying for other factors unrelated to their terminal illness, due to poor mental health, etc. “, she said.
These concerns were played down by Liam McArthur, the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP who tabled the Holyrood bill. He said the financial, personal and medical challenges of moving countries while terminally ill would be real and significant.
“In practice, it seems highly unlikely that a person with a terminal illness would want to experience the upheaval of being away from home, family, friends and medical support at this stage of their life,” he said. “Given that the course of a terminal illness is rarely linear, making such a decision would be even more problematic.
“Ultimately, my bill and the one before the UK parliament draw on best practice from around the world, but there are distinct elements in the Scottish legal and health systems, so it is right for MPs to consider the most appropriate approach here in Scotland.”
