Two people from Edinburgh feature in the next episode of European Current Affairs programme, Eòrpa, which is about the proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and will air on BBC ALBA tonight (Thursday, November 18) at 8.30pm.
Dr Donald MacDonald – from Edinburgh – practiced as a doctor, and as a minister, for many years, both in the UK and in India and he’s had MS for almost 40 years. He is against the assisted dying Scotland Bill because it goes against the age old medical ethic of not ending a life deliberately. He’s concerned that people would feel like a burden on their family, friends or caregivers and due to this they might opt for ending their life via assisted suicide or euthanasia.
And Leighanne Baird-Sangster from Edinburgh. In May 2020, her wife Gill was terminally ill with melanoma cancer and when she reached the end-of-life stage they had a very difficult 10 days before she died when she suffered a lot of pain. Leighanne supports the Assisted Dying Scotland Bill, so that no one else goes through what her wife did.
Assisted dying has always been a divisive, and deeply controversial topic. Those in favour may see it as a compassionate way to end suffering. Many people come to support it due to their own personal experience. But on the other hand, many of those against changing the law see it as gravely immoral, and as something which could be used to undermine the rights of the most vulnerable in society.
Any new change in the law in Scotland would not make it easy for someone to go through the assisted dying process. Anyone who wishes to go through with it must have a terminal, incurable illness, and must be deemed to be near the end of their lives. Although the proposed bill currently contains no recommendation on exactly how long someone might naturally have left to live.
Spain is the latest country to pass an assisted dying bill, giving people the option to end their lives when they choose. From March this year, those living in Spain who suffer from incurable illnesses can begin the process to end their own lives.
In Spain, a doctor can administer the final drug – something which would not be allowed were the law to change in Scotland.
Other Contributors include:
Dr Gordon MacDonald, Chief Executive Care not Killing, believes it would put people who are vulnerable in a very dangerous situation, that they would come under pressure to end their lives prematurely and rather than that we should be investing in proper palliative care.
Ally Thompson, Director – Dignity in Dying – says the current blanket ban is unfair and unjust, and causes so many dying people and their families to suffer needlessly. He believes legalising assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, would be better.
Liam MacArthur MSP for Orkney Islands – he thinks people have increasingly come to the conclusion that having this choice of an assisted death is compassionate, it’s what a progressive country ought to aspire to,
Rev Domhnall Michael Macinnes – he believes that passing this Bill would open Pandora’s Box and we should be encouraging life for people because it’s a precious gift from God. Mr MacInnes, who is minister of Gairbraid Church in Maryhill, Glasgow, is originally from Lewis. He is also a former minister at St Columba’s Church in St Vincent Street, Glasgow.
Javier Serrano Martin from Spain – was the first person in Madrid to die under the new assisted dying legislation. He suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and spoke to Eorpa shortly before his death.