MSP behind assisted dying plan ‘open to discussion’ about raising age limit from 16

Liam McArthur acknowledged there are concerns

The MSP behind plans to legalise assisted dying in Scotland has said he is “open” to discussion about raising the proposed age limit from 16.

Liam McArthur acknowledged there are “concerns” that this would be too young to make such a decision.

It came as his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill was published in Holyrood this week.

Liam McArthur poses for photographs and interviews as he has today published his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

The proposals would give people over the age of 16 with an advanced terminal illness the option of requesting an assisted death.

It is the third time MSPs have considered the issue, with two previous attempts to change the law overwhelmingly defeated.

Opponents fear the plans could see the lives of people who are ill or disabled “devalued”, with the Bishop of Paisley John Keenan branding it a “dangerous idea”.

But a poll conducted on behalf of Dignity in Dying, the campaign group, found more than three-quarters of Scots are in favour of assisted dying legislation.

Speaking to The Steamie, The Scotsman’s politics podcast, Mr McArthur said the ban on assisted dying is “leaving a small but significant number of Scots in an intolerable position at the end of life”.

He added: “Despite the best efforts of palliative care, they are enduring difficult, protracted and often painful deaths. We know that those who have the financial means and the physical capacity have the option of going to Switzerland to access the services provided by Dignitas.

"But for many more, we know that either they endure this bad death or they take matters into their own hands, either refusing food and liquids or else taking even more drastic action.

"And that is hugely traumatic, both for them, but particularly for those they leave behind, whose abiding memory is those final days, weeks, and the way in which their loved one passed away.”

The Liberal Democrat MSP said there has long been public support to change the law, but added: “I think the intensity of that support has increased. I think it matters more to people.

"I think that broadly reflects the fact that more and more people have a personal experience of losing a family member or a close personal friend in very difficult circumstances, and it has brought home to them why a change in the law is needed. The ban on assisted dying is failing too many terminally ill Scots.

"One campaigner suggested to me recently that everyone is one bad death away from supporting assisted dying.”

Mr McArthur was asked if 16 is too young to make such a decision. He said: "I think there will need to be a genuine debate around this. I opted for 16 in my Bill – age of majority – but I fully expect this to be an area that the lead committee taking evidence will want to scrutinise.

"I’ve had discussions with a range of different stakeholder organisations, including CHAS [Children's Hospices Across Scotland], who I know have concerns about age limits. So I’m open to having those discussions. I need to, I think, understand the nature of the concerns and how they might be addressed.

"But in a sense what we’re talking about here is a process that allows for far more open, regulated and safeguarded discussions around how we die, and I think that is to be welcomed.”

He added: “Having those discussions about how we die and improving the quality of death, I think, are absolutely invaluable. We spend an awful lot of time in this parliament discussing how we improve the quality of life. We don’t spend nearly enough time talking about how we improve the quality of death.”