Scotland's anyone assisted suicide bill.

This article was published on Wesley Smith's blog on October 26.

By Wesley Smith

So much for “aid in dying” as a “medical treatment.”

In Scotland, a bill is pending to authorize anyone-assisted suicides. From the honestly named–as opposed to US proposals--”Scottish Assisted Suicide Bill:”

No criminal liability for assisting suicide (1) It is not a crime (of any kind) to assist a person to commit suicide.

That basically means anyone can assist.

The person who wants to die has to be age 16 or higher, have two doctors state that he or she has a terminal or “life-shortening” illness–which,when you think about it, could be almost anything:

(5) The kind of illness or condition referred to in subsection (4)(a) is—(a) an illness that is, for the person, either terminal or life-shortening, or (b) a condition that is,;for the person, progressive and either terminal or life-shortening.

That’s a wide enough gap to drive a hearse through. Many conditions are far from terminal but could be considered “life shortening,” including diabetes, asymptomatic HIV infection, MS, plugged arteries in the heart, bi-polar disease, Lupus, perhaps even, obesity or nicotine addiction.

And they are pursuing Jack Kevokian’s dream of non-physician “licensed suicide facilitators:”

A licensed facilitator is to use best endeavours—

(a) to provide, before, during and after the act of suicide (or attempted suicide) by the person for whom the facilitator is acting, such practical assistance as the person reasonably requests,
(b) to provide the person with comfort and reassurance,
(c) to be with the person when any drug or other substance or means dispensed or otherwise supplied for the suicide of the person is taken or used by the person,
(d) as soon as practicable after the expiry of the period of 14 days referred to in section 17(2), to remove from the person any such drug or other substance or 20 means still in the person’s possession.

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Bonnie?” “I want to help people kill themselves, Ma!” “That’s a good girl.”

Note there is no provision for intervention by a suicide preventer.

And this provision turns over the whole process of licensing to suicide promoters:

Licensing of facilitators

(1) The Scottish Ministers may, by order, appoint—(a) a person or a body, association or group of persons to be the licensing authority, or (b) persons or bodies, associations or groups of persons to be licensing authorities,for facilitators

Think about how the ideologues at Compassion and Choices or Dignity in Dying would tingle at the mere thought of being able to license suicide assisters!

As radical as the bill already is, it would only be a launching pad for eventual active euthanasia as people got used to killing as an acceptable answer to human suffering.

We are being pushed steadily and consistently toward a culture of death on demand.

Different places are further down that road than others. But make no mistake: All assisted suicide/euthanasia roads lead to the same destination.