My Life, My Choice

My local MSP John Mason responded to my email regarding the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill which is to be debated in the Scottish Parliament today.

Here's out latest exchange of views.


Dear John

Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill

Thank you for your response to my email - needless to say I disagree with your comments which in my view amount to you putting your personal religious beliefs ahead of the individual rights and interests of your local constituents.

More to the point there is absolutely no evidence to support the three numbered paragraphs contained in your reply. I find the third point particularly insulting and your suggestion that  the NHS and other services have a "serious interest in encouraging suicide" strikes me as a terrible slur on the professionalism of doctors, nurses and other staff involved in end of life care .   

So, in my view, your stated reasons for voting against the Bill are completely bogus, are unsupported by any evidence and are really just acting as a cover for your religious beliefs. 

I look forward to hearing what you have to say if called in the debate, as I voted for you in a previous election. I also voted Yes in in the Scottish independence referendum and supported the SNP in the recent Westminster elections because I backed the case for progressive change.

But on the basis of what you have said in your reply I think it highly unlikely that you will get my support in next year's Scottish Parliament elections; not because I disagree with your religious views per se, which are a private matter for you, but because I object strongly to your evident zeal for imposing these views on your fellow citizens.

Kind regards

Mark Irvine  

-----Original Message-----
From: John.Mason.msp <John.Mason.msp@scottish.parliament.uk>
To: markirvine <markirvine@compuserve.com>
Subject: RE: Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill

Dear Mark

Thanks for your email.

The Assisted Suicide Bill is due to be debated at Parliament on Wednesday. It clearly is a very contentious issue as you suggest.

Public opinion varies depending on what question you ask and how you ask it.  If you ask if vulnerable people should be encouraged to commit suicide, I think you will generally get a No answer to that. Yet passing a Bill like this will encourage suicide.

My key concerns are:

1. Many older people do not want to be a burden and will be encouraged to commit suicide if this Bill is passed;

2. There have always been families who want their hands on the inheritance quicker so they could put pressure on an older relative to end their lives prematurely;

3. The NHS and other services would stand to save money if beds could be freed up and care costs reduced, therefore they have a serious interest in encouraging suicide.

There are other arguments on both sides but for the reasons I have stated I intend to vote against the Bill on Wednesday and hopefully to speak against it too.

I hope that clarifies my position and my apologies that it is a different line from yours.

Yours sincerely

John

From: markirvine@compuserve.com [mailto:markirvine@compuserve.com]
Sent: 25 May 2015 10:03
To: Mason J (John), MSP
Subject: Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill

Dear John 

Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill

I have been following the debate around assisted suicide in the Scottish Parliament and understand that MSPs are due to have a first vote on a draft Bill this week.

I feel very strongly about this issue along with lots of other people, as I'm sure you know. 

I hope very much that you will stand up for the views of your local constituents and those of a big majority of people in Scotland who believe the time has come for a change in the law and, subject to proper safeguards,  that  the actions of a person who helps a loved one to end their own life should be decriminalised.

For me this is a matter of individual choice and personal freedom. At the moment I have no idea how my life might end, yet if things became intolerable for me I would wish to have the right and ability to end my life at a time of my own choosing, as opposed to being completely overwhelmed by some terrible condition or terminal illness that robs me of my humanity and dignity.

I am not a religious person in any way, but my mother was and I am proud to say that my Mum was a committed Christian who also believed strongly in changing the law on assisted suicide.

I respect the religious beliefs of fellow Scots although I think it is monstrously unfair and  arrogant that the law continues to criminalise the actions of other citizens who do not share the view that human life can only begin or end by the will of an all-powerful Supreme Being.

For me this is not so far removed from  the behaviour of early  Christian missionaries  in Africa who imposed their religious teachings and doctrines  on the local tribes and indigenous people, whether they liked it or not, because they (i.e.the missionaries) knew  what  was 'good' for their eternal souls, whether the local people believed in eternal souls or not. 

Thankfully things have now moved on these days, in many parts of the world at least. 

So I am asking you to support a change in the law, to do the right  thing, and vote to decriminalise the actions of a  person  who agrees to help a loved one or family member take control as their life is coming to an end, in a peaceful manner and at a time of their own choosing.  

Kind regards

Mark Irvine