Friends at the End have worked with Jackson Carlaw MSP (vice-chair of the CPG of End of Life Choices) to submit a motion asking for the Lord Advocate to issue guidance on Assisted Dying, following the recent decision by the criminal appeal court in Edinburgh. Motion S5M-10309 is currently open for MSPs to show their supporting and is receiving support from across the political divide.
Motion S5m-10309 – Assisted Dying
That the Parliament acknowledges the recent decision by the criminal appeal court in Edinburgh to overturn a conviction regarding assisted dying; notes the view that there is a lack of guidance from the Lord Advocate on this issue; believes that no family member should be put in a position in which they risk imprisonment as a result of helping a loved one to die at a time and place of their choosing; understands that around one person every fortnight from the UK travels to Dignitas in Switzerland to end their life, and that, between 2002 and 2015, some 292 UK residents used its service, and calls on the Scottish Government to hold an inquiry or set up a commission into assisted dying.
