current consultations
Consultation responses
CMF regularly makes submissions to Government and other consultations on issues of ethical importance. All of our submissions are accessible here, along with some briefing notes from us or trusted others to help you think through the issues involved. If you're unsure how to complete a consultation, this Quick Guide should help you get started.
Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Detailed Consultation - Call for Views
CMF has submitted a response to this Bill, listing its main concerns:
- Definition - the definition of 'terminal' ilnesses embraces conditions that will not be terminal in the commonly understood sense of the word. The definition is unhelpfully elastic and will produce confusion
- Safety - the Bill appears to ignore the experience in every other country that has legalised assisted dying and/or euthanasia, where there has been extension in both scale and scope from the stated intention. Thereis no reason to think it would be any different in Scotland.We are concerned that elderly people will feel coerced into 'doing the decent thing' out of their concern not to be a burden to loved ones or healthcare providers.
- The Bill implies that palliative care is unable to deliver symptom control up to the point of natural death. We believe this to be false in all but the most rare cases. What is lacking in Scotland is access to high quality palliative care. Introducing assisted dying will not improve that picture. We suggest the solution to better terminal care is to invest intentionally in the training of high quality palliative care physicians and improving access to those services
In short, we believe that legalising assisted dying is unnecessary, unsafe, and unwanted by the very people who will be called upon to provide it.
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Read CMF's submission
