Fate of McArthur’s Assisted Dying Bill to be decided on momentous day in Scottish Parliament

Tuesday is D-Day for Liam McArthur’s bid to steer through legislation that would bring in the right-to-die for terminally ill Scots.

The Orkney MSP was preparing to make his final pitch before the final version of his Assisted Dying bill is voted on at the evening sitting at Holyrood.

The debate is expected to start at 7pm, with a final vote taking place at around 10pm.

Most commentators claim the outcome of the free vote is too close to call.

It comes nearly two years after Mr McArthur tabled the bill which, if passed, would add Scotland to the parts of the world where terminally ill adults are allowed to seek medical help to die.

The issue, one of the biggest to face MSPs in the history of the Scottish Parliament, has elicited very strong feelings on both sides of the divide.

A plethora of amendments have been debated in the chamber. Among the most significant accepted has been that individuals must have a six-month life expectancy.

Added checks have also been agreed to detect and prevent coercion and doctors must find out if the patient is receiving social or mental health care while alternatives such as palliative and hospice care must be discussed.

Safeguards have also been put in place, say backers of the bill, to ensure health professionals who have religious or other objections to assisted dying, will not be penalised for opting out.

In the past week alone, 175 amendments have been accepted.

The changes, according to Mr McArthur have made his bill “bullet-proof”.

On Tuesday morning, he is due to meet with a number of terminally ill people and supporters of his bill outside Holyrood.

He said: “When I launched this bill, I said that I wanted to deliver a robust and well safeguarded law that would give terminally ill Scots with mental capacity the choice of an assisted death if they wanted one.

“After five years of development, consultation, revision and amendment, that bill now sits before Parliament.

“Throughout this process public support has been unwavering. This bill has the overwhelming support of a significant majority of Scots regardless of religious affiliation, political party or disability status.”

Mr McArthur added: “MSPs have added detailed amendments on coercion, prognosis and protection of vulnerable groups and there are cast-iron protections for healthcare professionals ready to go.

“This is now the toughest and most comprehensively safeguarded assisted dying bill in the world.

“If you believe that dying people should not have to suffer against their will and you have heard, like I have, of the many instances where they have been simply failed by the lack of compassion and safety in our current law, you now have to back this bill.

“It is time to look terminally ill Scots in the eye and make this change.”