Writing for the Record, Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy explains why assisted dying proposals leave her terrified
There are moments in politics that hit you. The debate on assisted suicide is one of them. I have lived with juvenile idiopathic arthritis since I was 18 months old.
It’s a severe, progressive condition that makes doing simple things most people take for granted a daily challenge. There isn’t a doctor in Scotland who wouldn’t describe my condition as “advanced” or “progressive.” It could one day shorten my life.
Under the definition in the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill, that makes me eligible for assisted suicide. I know who’ll be at risk if this Bill becomes law.
Disabled people. Those who are lonely. Those who already feel like a burden. Those who rely on others to live. Those whose lives are considered not worth living.
When I made this case to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, I hoped that MSPs would understand these fears. I hoped they would listen to those with lived experience.
But instead of easing my concerns, it intensified them. The committee rejected a simple measure designed to preserve clarity in the definition of terminal illness.
Without this clarity, the Bill risks erasing the vital line between terminal illness and disability. My colleague Jeremy Balfour MSP proposed another safeguard that would have ruled out assisted suicide for people seeking it because of anorexia, Down’s syndrome, depression, anxiety, loneliness, poverty, or poor housing. The amendment was rejected.
Let that sink in. Supporters of assisted suicide often speak of compassion, choice, and dignity. I understand that.
But compassion can never mean turning away from those who might feel that with a life like theirs, they could be considered better off dead.
We’re not legislating in an ideal scenario, where someone has a loving family and excellent medical care, in a society where disabled people live as equals. We’re legislating in a context of inequality and oppression.
When I say assisted suicide terrifies me, I mean it. That’s why I cannot stay silent while a Bill moves through Parliament that could put people at risk.
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