Scottish Catholic Observer

The parliamentary officer  for Scotland’s bishops has deemed as ‘dangerous’  proposals released last week calling for the legalisation of assisted suicide in England and Wales.

Pro-life and anti-euthanasia groups throughout the UK have also united in their condemnation of the 400-page Falconer Report.

The report, published by the Commission on Assisted Dying, chaired by Lord Falconer of Thoroton (right), requests that the law should change to permit assisted suicide for patients who are terminally ill and have less than a year to live.

It was, however, paid for by millionaire author and voluntary euthanasia campaigner Sir Terry Pratchett who has Alzheimer’s disease, and sponsored by Dignity in Dying, the former Voluntary Euthanasia Society.

Dangerous and biased

John Deighan, the parliamentary officer for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, described the proposals as ‘very dangerous.’

“Changes in the law would not affect just those wanting to die but every person in our society and this is what the commission is unwilling to take seriously,” Mr Deighan said. “Many people would be put at grave risk and for that reason the proposed ‘safeguards’ have already been rejected three times by politicians at the Scottish and UK Parliaments in recent years.

“Attempts to bring in new legislation are a waste of time given that the measures have already been thoroughly examined and rejected. For the sake of living in a civilised society, we need to ensure that that opinion continues to prevail.”

The Falconer report has been widely criticised and dismissed for its bias. Donna Nicholson, director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) Scotland, commented that ‘it is nothing more than pro-euthanasia propaganda.’

“What we are dealing with here is a report from a commission made up of and funded by pro-euthanasia supporters set up following Parliament’s repeated rejections of attempts by Lord Falconer and other pro-euthanasia politicians and campaigners to change the law,” Ms Nicholson said. “Those who head SPUC’s disability wing believe this latest report to be a renewed attack on the legal status of disabled and elderly people and yet another attempt to convince the public that many disabled people want to die, and that they are sensible to want to die.”

Ms Nicholson added that more than 40 organisations, including the British Medical association, refused to give evidence to Lord Falconer’s group.

Assisted suicide in Scotland

Independent MSP Margo MacDonald was defeated in her attempt to introduce the End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill in 2010 and is planning to introduce a new bill to the Scottish Parliament on assisted dying.

In spite of this Gordon Macdonald, parliamentary officer for Christian charity, CARE, and policy officer for the Care Not Killing coalition of Care, believes it is not an area that will be revisited in Scotland. He told the SCO that the Scottish Parliament has already shown there is no appetite for changing the laws on assisted dying north of the border.

“I don’t think there is an appetite within the Scottish Parliament for revisiting this issue,” Mr Macdonald said but added in reference to the Falconer report, that ‘we cannot let our guard down’ against ‘dangerous’ and ‘vociferous’ pro-euthanasia campaigning.

Ms MacDonald, who has Parkinson’s disease and has backed the publication of the Falconer report, said that it is an issue ‘that is not going to go away.’

The Falconer report recommends that patients who are terminally ill and have less than a year to live should be allowed to request a lethal dose of drugs from their doctor, which they would take themselves.

Dr Peter Saunders of the Care Not Killing group said that a law allowing assisted suicide, ‘especially at a time of economic recession, when many families are feeling financial pressure and health budgets are being cut,’ is ‘the very last thing we need.’

“This would place pressure on elderly, sick and disabled people to end their lives, for fear of being an emotional or financial burden or exhausting an inheritance, and would be a recipe for abuse and exploitation for those with an interest in their deaths,” Dr Saunders said.

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