Scottish parliament did not lack courage in voting against assisted suicide bill in 2015

Warlow, a trustee of the pro-assisted dying campaign group Friends at the End, welcomes the introduction of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, but wonders if members of the Scottish parliament will have the “courage to legislate in the direction which the public clearly want,” or if they will “hold back sheepishly like last time, under pressure from a minority of well meaning opponents?”1I witnessed the process “last time” in my capacity as adviser to the parliamentary committee tasked with scrutinising the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill in 2015. Over weeks of intense investigation and expert witness testimony, the Health and Sport Committee wrestled with some of the most difficult legal and ethical dilemmas legislators can be asked to contend with. They crafted a balanced, well informed report in advance of the vote.Both the rigour of the proceedings and the even handedness of the report were striking, as…
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