Introduced by Liam McArthur MSP, the Bill, if passed, would allow eligible, terminally ill adults in Scotland to lawfully request, and be provided with, assistance by health professionals to end their own life.
The RCN is committed to supporting members to provide high-quality end of life care. We recognise that the assisted dying debate is complex and our neutral position in relation to assisted dying for people who have a terminal illness, means we will not be commenting on whether the law should be changed to enable terminally ill individuals to access an assisted death.
However, the Bill, as proposed, could see registered nurses playing a significant role in the assisted dying process, if the legislation is passed by MSPs. This means the RCN has a responsibility to engage in the process to ensure that, if passed, the Bill contains the necessary safeguards to protect nurses and nursing practice.
We are currently considering our response to the Bill and will be engaging fully in the parliamentary process. While all our activity to comment on, and influence, the Bill will adhere to the RCN position of neutrality on assisted dying, we will seek to protect the interests of both members who may wish to engage in assisting a death under the terms of the legislation, and members who may not wish to participate.
Commenting on RCN Scotland’s approach to the Bill, Eileen Mckenna, RCN Scotland Associate Director said: “The RCN has a neutral position on whether the law on assisted dying should be changed. This rightly reflects our members' differing views on the issue and means we neither support nor oppose attempts to change the law.
“However, our position of neutrality does not mean we will be silent. Now that this Bill has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament, we have a responsibility to represent the interests of our members with regards to the proposals as they relate, directly or indirectly, to the role of the nurse or nursing practice and we will work with members to inform our response to the Bill.”
In the coming weeks we will share more information about how members can inform our work and our evidence to the Committee. In the meantime, if you would like to keep up to date with our work in this area please email: policyscotland@rcn.org.uk (Please note that our work is focused on informing MSPs about the impact of the proposals on nursing and ensuring that the Bill contains the necessary safeguards to protect our members, and is not about whether assisted dying should be legalised).
