Scots Express Opposition to Assisted Suicide

By Liz Townsend

Almost 90% of those answering a call from the Scottish Parliament for written evidence as it considers an assisted-suicide bill expressed strong opposition to legalizing euthanasia, according to The Scotsman.

The Scottish Parliament's Information Centre (SPICe) reported that 521 of the 601 respondents opposed the bill, with only 39 in favor and 41 expressing no opinion, The Scotsman reported.

The End of Life Assistance Bill would allow anyone over 16 who "has been diagnosed as terminally ill and finds life intolerable; or ... is permanently physically incapacitated to such an extent as not to be able to live independently and finds life intolerable" to request help to kill him or herself. The bill requires consultation with two medical practitioners, but does not specify the method of death or include any reporting requirements.

Pro-life groups applauded the people and organizations that submitted objections to the bill. "We are very pleased there has been an overwhelming body of evidence against the bill," Gordon MacDonald of pro-life group Care Not Killing told The Scotsman.

Only 7 of the 117 submissions by medical practitioners supported assisted suicide. The health care workers who opposed the bill told Parliament that "patients may look differently on the profession as a whole, given doctors take an oath to preserve life yet will at the same time have the powers in the bill," according to SPICe's summary of the evidence.

Evidence given by the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics summed up many of the objections, according to The Scotsman. "Legalising euthanasia would mean that society would accept that some individuals can actually lose their inherent human dignity and have lives which no longer have any worth, meaning or value," the council wrote. "It would give the message that human dignity is only based on subjective choices and decisions and whether a life meets certain quality standards."

The bill is currently in Stage 1 of consideration, which is scheduled to last until November 24, 2010.