Largely missing from this debate was any reflection on the problematic nature of the legal status quo relating to assisted dying..
IF you are concerned about the risk of coercion, why do we allow people to leave the jurisdiction with the express purpose of ending their life in Switzerland? Why does Scots law take no interest in the flight logs delivering people from this jurisdiction to the Dignitas Clinic? Why do the authorities make no attempt to stop them?
If the risks of coercion are as significant as MSPs suggested last week, shouldn’t we be adopting a zero-tolerance approach to Zurich flights and arresting people conspiring to escort their friends or loved ones outside of the jurisdiction for this purpose before they reach Dignitas?
If a majority of our politicians are as anxious about these social risks as they claim, why haven’t we extended something like the Suicide Act into Scots law? Why aren’t we criminalising and punishing those who assist their friends or relatives to end their lives, given there can be no guarantees these chaperones aren’t bad actors who’ve persuaded their relatives that they have become a tiresome burden? Why are we only concerned about the risk of coercion if you don’t have £10,000 to spend on your medical expenses?
For myself, I wouldn’t support any of these initiatives. I doubt a majority of the public would either. Having once again decided not to legislate for assisted dying, there’s every sign Scottish politicians will be content to ignore how incompatible their arguments are – not only with the proposals rejected last week – but with the compromised, uncertain and often hypocritical status quo we’re now left to live and die under.