The Scottish Parliament is discussing a bill that would legalize euthanasia and assisted dying. If passed, it would make Scotland the first UK nation to legalize the practice, but it may not be alone for very long, as UK lawmakers are discussing the very same thing after newly elected PM Keir Starmer has indicated his support for such a bill.
Scotland
Vatican News reports that the Scottish bill, titled “The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill,” was published in March 2024. If passed, the new legislation would allow for terminally ill patients to request to be euthanized, so long as two doctors have ruled the patient to be mentally fit. Additionally, patients must be 16-years-old in order to make such a request and they must have been a Scottish resident for at least 12 months. If approved, the patient would have to take the drugs themselves.
Those in support of the bill feel that the easing of patient’s suffering is a mercy, but those opposed fear that the result would find patients feeling pressured to end their lives prematurely. Crux points out that a similar bill filled with safeguards was passed in Canada, but many of these criteria have since been dropped, allowing the number of euthanasia deaths to rise 13 times higher than in its initial years.
In a strongly worded letter, the Scottish bishops wrote of the proposed bill:
Allowing “us to kill our brothers and sisters, takes us down a dangerous spiral that always puts at risk the most vulnerable members of our society, including the elderly, the disabled, and those who struggle with mental health.”
United Kingdom
Meanwhile a similar discussion on euthanasia and assisted dying is taking place in UK Parliament. A previous bill presented about a decade ago was voted down with a clear margin, but the makeup of the 2024 Parliament is nowhere near the same as it was, with 477 of 650 MPs who voted on the first bill having retired or left office by now.
With a new Parliament and a Prime Minister who has voiced his support for legalized euthanasia, former Lord Chancellor Charlie Falconer has called this moment a “once-in-a-generation chance” to pass such a bill. He told the Guardian:
“In the almost decade that’s gone by, there’s been a much greater focus on the issue. Lots of the rest of the world have addressed that issue and changed their laws. But also, there’s been an ever-increasing awareness in this country of the mess that the law is. And people have become more and more interested in the quality of their lives and the quality of their deaths.”
The UK legislation would also come with some safeguards, requiring a terminal diagnosis where it is expected that death would occur within six months. Furthermore, it would not apply to those living with “unbearable suffering,” as that could lead to unintentional cases, such as those who are mentally ill.
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