Humza Yousaf deepens opposition to assisted dying

After speaking with disability campaigners, Humza Yousaf has deepened his opposition to assisted dying plans.

The First Minister has said that those with disabilities fear being the “thin edge of the wedge” if proposals were to become law.

Yousaf shares, “My view has always been to be open minded to the discussion, but I have not been persuaded and I feel even less persuaded after a recent discussion with the Glasgow Disability Alliance.

“I went to meet with [chief executive] Tressa Burke and a whole group of individuals, people with disabilities, and they were incredibly strong in their opposition to assisted dying, given that they felt that they would be the ones, as they described it, that would be the thin end of the wedge when it came to assisted dying.”

He continued: “They were really worried, particularly after COVID. They told me the experiences that they had in terms of Do Not Resuscitate notices. So they were really worried and put forward a very passionate plea to me as First Minister not to support assisted dying.

“The debate has a long way to go. There's a lot of evidence to listen to. There's a lot of perspectives to hear and I hope that the debate that does take place, regardless of people's view on this.... is conducted with real sensitivity and respect.”

Liam McArthur’s bill, which would allow terminally ill adults to request assistance to end their lives, is currently being backed by a cross-party group of MSPs.

This is not a new debate in the Scottish Parliament and similar plans to change the law in previous years have failed to take hold.

Scottish Labour Anas Sarwar adds her concerns on the impact on those with disabilities.

In response to former SNP Health Secretary Jeane Freeman being in favour of the changes to the law, Sarwar says, “I’ve always been really struck by her saying we need to ensure people are given the assistance to be able to live given so many circumstances people face, particularly those with a disability.

“So I’m yet to be persuaded on the legislation. I don’t instinctively support the legislation. I think, again, safeguarding is really, really important on that, but I’m willing to listen to the debate.”

Polling for CARE has highlighted how, when people engage with the powerful argument against changing the law, support for assisted suicide drops dramatically.