The committee has been scrutinising proposals put forward by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur which, if passed, would allow those suffering from a terminal illness to seek help to end their lives.
Noting the “strength of feeling” there is on both sides of the debate, Holyrood’s Health Committee made clear it would not make any recommendation on whether or not the general principles of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill should be approved.
Convener Clare Haughey said that after having considered the proposals in “great detail”, members of the committee believe the vote at Holyrood – which will determine the legislation can continue to the next stage – was a “matter of conscience for each individual MSP”.
She added that as a result it has made “no overall recommendation as to how they should vote on the general principles of the Bill”.
However, she added that should the Bill proceed to the second stage, the committee had “highlighted a number of areas which we feel will require further consideration before the Bill can become law”.
Ms Haughey said: “These include issues around human rights, coercion, eligibility criteria, provision of assistance, self-administration and conscientious objection for healthcare workers.”
In its report the committee said that “safeguards” in the Bill could be “strengthened” with independent oversight, such as by an independent review panel or by giving the Chief Medical Officer a monitoring role.
On the issue of capacity, the committee said this would need to be assessed in a “fair and non-discriminatory way” for those with a mental disorder, while also seeking to give “suitable protection for vulnerable individuals”.
Additional safeguards could also be considered against “so-called ‘doctor shopping” – where people try to find a doctor who will support them to end their life.
With Health Secretary Neil Gray having already made clear the Scottish Government believes the Bill “in its current form” to be outside of Holyrood’s legislative competence, Ms Haughey said there are “particular complexities associated with those aspects of the Bill which extend beyond the limits of the powers currently devolved to the Scottish Parliament”.
She said that if MSPs approve the general principles of the Bill in the stage one vote there would need to be “an open and constructive dialogue between the Scottish and UK Governments to resolve these issues and to allow the Bill to take full legal effect”.
But Mr McArthur said that “fundamentally this Bill is about striking the balance between providing a right for terminally ill adults to access assisted dying and the requirement to protect vulnerable groups”.
He stated: “In my view compassion and safety are the cornerstones of my proposals.
“In changing the law to allow dying people more choice, while putting in place vital safety measures where none currently exist, we will get that balance right.”
The Liberal Democrat recognised the committee’s view “that this is an issue for every MSP to consider as a matter of personal conscience ahead of a free vote in the coming weeks”.
And he urged MSPs from all parties to “listen to the voices of terminally ill Scots desperate for more choice, control and dignity” as well as to the “many people across Scotland who have witnessed the harrowing deaths of friends and loved ones”.
Mr McArthur added: “The public polling is consistent across age range, disability status, geographic area and religious belief – Scots want a change in the law to allow terminally ill people the choice of an assisted death.
“This Bill has been a long time coming but, at long last, it can offer that compassionate choice for the small number of terminally ill Scots who need it.”
However, opponents of the change at Care Not Killing insisted that the “scrutiny process of the Bill has been wholly inadequate”.
Campaign group chief executive Gordon Macdonald said: “With seven of the 10 members of the Health Committee having signed up to support the Bill when it was first proposed, it raises significant questions about the rigour of the scrutiny process”.
Meanwhile, Dr Miro Griffiths, spokesman for the Better Way campaign, stated: “Palliative care doctors, psychiatrists, disabled people’s organisations, experts in the care of older people and others have cautioned that a change in the law would inevitably lead to abuses against the most vulnerable.
“No number of safeguards could rule out coercion of patients through subtle pressure applied behind closed doors.”
He added: “When politicians have debated this issue in the past, they have always concluded that the risks of changing the law make it too dangerous to pursue.
“We’d urge MSPs to heed experts’ concerns and vote against Liam McArthur’s Bill at stage one.”
