The British Humanist Association is disappointed to see religious groups line up in opposition to the End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill today, as they give evidence to the Bill Committee. Evidence from the Free Church of Scotland, Salvation Army, Church of Scotland, Methodist Church in Scotland, Muslim Council of Scotland and Scottish Council of Jewish Communities will be submitted, all calling for an outright rejection of the Bill. The sole submission of evidence in support of the Bill from the perspective of a non-religious belief organisation comes from the Humanist Society of Scotland.
The Bill has been brought by Margo MacDonald MSP and is open to all residents of Scotland over 16 who either have “been diagnosed as terminally ill and find life intolerable” or who are “permanently physically incapacitated to such an extent as not to be able to live independently and find life intolerable.” Only those who have been registered with a Scottish medical practice for the previous 18 months may make a request, in order to stop so-called “death tourism”. Furthermore, two requests must be made to medical practitioners, with the second coming at least 15 days after the requestor has been notified of the approval of the first request.
BHA campaigns officer Pepper Harow commented, ‘While not every humanist would support assisted dying, the majority do, as humanists have no religious impetus for prolonging life once quality of life has been lost to such an extent that suffering becomes unbearable. Instead, most would emphasise the right of each individual as to how to end her/his own life, as long as this does not result in harm to others. As such, the British Humanist Association has long supported attempts to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill with the appropriate checks and balances put in place to prevent misuse.’
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Read more about the BHA’s work on assisted dying
For comment or information, contact Pepper Harow, Campaigns Officer, on 0207 462 4992.
The British Humanist Association is the national charity representing and supporting the interests of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.