Scottish lawmakers reject bill to let terminally ill people end their lives

LONDON — Lawmakers in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday rejected a law that would have made Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives.

MPs in Edinburgh voted 69 to 57 against a bill that would have allowed Scots with six months or less to live to seek help to end their lives. There was one abstention.

It came after an emotional debate that lasted about three hours and saw lawmakers crying and clapping as they took turns expressing their views on the issue.

They had been given a free vote on the assisted dying bill, which meant they could decide according to their conscience rather than along party lines.

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom – alongside England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and has a semi-autonomous government which exercises authority over many policy areas, including health.

Liberal Democrat lawmaker Liam McArthur, who drafted the Scottish bill, had urged his colleagues to support it.

“If you believe that dying people should not have to suffer against their will and have heard, like me, of many cases where they have simply been abandoned by the lack of compassion and safety in our current law, you must support this bill now,” he said. “It’s time to look terminally ill Scots in the eyes and make that change. »

But opponents of assisted dying have argued that vulnerable, elderly, sick and depressed people could be pressured to end their lives so as not to be a burden on others.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, of the ruling Scottish National Party, said she would vote against the bill. Some medical organisations, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, also oppose it.

“Doctors, psychiatrists, pharmacists and palliative care specialists – the people who would be responsible for implementing this – are asking us not to do it,” Forbes said. “They think this bill is not safe.”

Some have also expressed concerns about the impact such legislation could have on people with disabilities, exposing them to additional risks. MP Pam Duncan-Glancy insisted that “disabled people have no real choices in life”, adding that it was “inconceivable to suggest that the introduction of assisted dying is about choice”.

The defeat is a setback for efforts by supporters of assisted dying to change British laws. A similar bill, which would legalize assisted dying in England and Wales, is currently blocked in the British Parliament in London.

The House of Commons approved the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in June, but it was delayed by more than 1,000 amendments in the House of Lords. Supporters of the bill say it is a delaying tactic by opponents. Some House members, however, say they are carrying out the oversight necessary to strengthen the legislation.

It seems likely that the bill will not pass both houses of Parliament before the end of the current parliamentary session, scheduled for May. If that happens, the bill will die and any further attempts to legalize medical assistance in dying will have to start from scratch.

The Isles of Jersey and Man, which are possessions of the British Crown but not part of the United Kingdom, have passed similar laws which await formal approval from King Charles III. The two small islands are autonomous but depend on the United Kingdom for their defense and certain foreign affairs.

Assisted suicide – where patients take a lethal drink prescribed by a doctor – is legal in countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and parts of the United States, with regulations on eligibility varying by jurisdiction.