Is Scotland ready for legislation which would allow assistance at the end of life?

On 22 September 2021, Liam McArthur MSP lodged a Bill proposal with the Scottish Parliament to enable mentally competent adults who are terminally ill to be provided with assistance to end their life at their request. The proposal was accompanied by a consultation document which invited views from members of the public.

Over 14,000 individuals and organisations responded to the consultation – the largest ever public response for a Member’s Bill since the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999.

This Bill has now received the requisite MSP support for which will allow it to make its way though the scrutiny processes of the Scottish Parliament. When so many other jurisdictions have now passed similar legislation should the question perhaps focus upon why Scotland has not followed a similar path?  

This presentation will look at the discussions which have accompanied debates in other jurisdictions and consider  previous proposals put before…