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Scottish MPs have overwhelmingly rejected a bill that sought to legalise assisted suicide.
The bill, which would have allowed those with terminal illnesses to seek the aid of a doctor to help end their lives, was defeated 82-36 in a free vote in the Scottish Parliament.
A Scottish parliamentary committee recently concluded that the bill contained “significant flaws” and opposed its general principles.
But the committee stated the full parliament should decide whether or not to throw out the proposed legislation.
The bill was presented to parliament by Green MSP Patrick Harvie.
He had agreed to take over the bill from MSP Margo MacDonald who died last year from Parkinson’s Disease.
After the vote, Mr Harvie said: “I know many supporters of assisted suicide will now be hoping that the Lord Advocate issues prosecution guidance and that the Scottish government considers alternative approaches to the problem.”
In 2010, the Scottish Parliament defeated an assisted suicide bill 85-16.
The latest bill was opposed by Muslim, Jewish, Protestant and Catholic leaders.
In January, Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, sparked controversy when he suggested the legislation is comparable to racist Nazi laws that paved the way for the Holocaust.
The Council of Imams Scotland wrote to Scottish MPs urging them to vote against the bill.
The Imams stated it is strictly against Islamic law to help terminate the “divine gift” of life.
Conservative MSP Dr Nanette Milne, a former anaesthetist and cancer researcher who sits on Holyrood’s Health Committee, opposed the bill.
She said: “Personally, as a former health professional, the idea of actively and deliberately hastening death by assisting someone to die is deeply disturbing for me.
“And I share the view of many professional colleagues that to legislate for this would risk undermining patient trust in doctors and medical advice.”
Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said he supported the bill’s general principles.
“The right to life is not the same as a duty to live. This is about providing dignity, respect and choice at the end of life.”
Sources
- BBC
- Herald Scotland
- Image: Lifesitenews
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