Terminally ill people and families of those who suffered as they died have come together to urge MSPs to vote for Liam McArthur MSP’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill in the Scottish Parliament.
The letter, signed by 54 people with lived experience across Scotland, tells of the fear of facing a painful and protracted death without the option of an assisted death, and the bleak options with which they are left, including ending their own lives behind closed doors.
Those who have witnessed a loved one suffer as they die highlight extreme suffering that is beyond the reach of any palliative care, leaving those behind with harrowing memories.
The lead signatory of the letter, Norma Rivers, 73, from Ayr, has terminal myeloma – a rare form of blood cancer. Having witnessed her father’s traumatic death from cancer, she knows she doesn’t want to suffer as she dies.
Norma said: “Having no choice can force people into things they don’t want to do. I want to live as long as possible, but I am running out of treatment options.
“If the Bill isn’t passed before I die, I will take matters into my own hands. I have just been living in fear, trying to work out which of my drugs I need and how much, and scared I’ll end up worse if it doesn’t work.
“All I ask if for a peaceful ending surrounded by my family.”
FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER
Dear MSPs,
We have come together as terminally ill people and families of those who suffered as they died, to ask you to vote for the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill at Stage 3.
We are the real people at the heart of this Bill. Some of us face a terminal diagnosis ourselves, while others have witnessed a loved one suffer unbearably at the end of life. When you voted for the Bill at Stage 1, we know that you did so with our stories in your minds, and we ask you to please do the same at Stage 3. The Stage 1 vote brought such relief and hope to us, that no one else might have to suffer as we have.
For those of us with a terminal diagnosis, denying us choice will not stop us seeking it out. Without assisted dying, we are coerced into suffering against our wishes. Many of us have already seen a loved one suffer and know what is coming. Like the vast majority of Scots, we are priced out of travelling to Switzerland.
We do not want to die alone in a foreign country, but could not risk our loved ones facing prosecution when they return without us. The only other option is to end our own lives behind closed doors. This means endless sleepless nights calculating the combination and amounts of drugs we need and the intense fear that none of it will work and we will end up in a worse position than before.
Watching a loved one suffer has put us in impossible situations too. The agony we have witnessed, even with the very best palliative and hospice staff doing everything they can, is unimaginable.
We have been left powerless, hands tied by the law, as our closest family begged us to help them; to take them to Switzerland when we know they are too far gone, or o scour the dark web for pills, not knowing what’s in them or where they come from.
The law abandoned us when we needed it most, leaving us to scramble around in the dark with no process, no safeguards, and no compassion. We are only left with harrowing memories, guilt that we were powerless to help, and our own health conditions caused by the stress.
Assisted dying would be a lifeline. It would let us live the rest of our lives in peace, making precious final memories with our loved ones, without the constant dread of how our lives will end. It’s too late for our loved ones who have died, but we have the opportunity to make things ight so no one has to suffer as they did.
This issue is not going away. Voting against this Bill will not stop us from dying, but will deny us a lifeline to a safe, peaceful death surrounded by our loved ones.
You have before you an opportunity to shape what an assisted dying law in Scotland looks like.
A law that is safe, compassionate, and provides choice to those who so desperately need it. Without it, our options are bleak. The most dangerous thing you can do for us is nothing.
Please give us hope by voting for the Assisted Dying Bill.
Thank you.
