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Fighting for Our Lives: Disabled People against Assisted Dying

Empty wheelchairs and pairs of shoes are grouped together. Signs in the wheelchairs and behind the shoes read signs like 'I was depressed', 'I cost too much', 'I was coerced', 'I will be next', 'I had no support', 'I wasn't valued'.
This is a copy of our e-bulletin distributed on 13 February 2025. To subscribe, click here

Assisted dying is very much in the news just now, as Bills to legalise it are before the Scottish and UK parliaments. Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA), based on what our members have told us and along with all other Disabled People Led Organisations, are firmly opposed to any moves to legalise assisted dying.

GDA members were outspoken in a groundswell of opposition to assisted dying when it was previously debated in Holyrood in 2015. Our resistance has only strengthened since then, given disabled people’s experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic; 15 years of austerity; now the cost of living crisis. Disabled people’s human rights are regularly breached and our lives have been devalued and deprioritised. Too often we are denied access to vital services and supports and are unable to exercise choice and control, or have the same freedom and opportunities as non-disabled people, to participate in our own lives, families and communities.

Photograph of a protest against assisted dying. There are two rows of empty wheelchairs. On each wheelchair is a sign with messages which say I was coerced; I cost too much; I wasn’t valued; I will be next; I was depressed; I had no pain control; I was a burden; and I had no choice. In front of the wheelchairs are several pairs of shoes and boots.Photo credit: Not Dead Yet

This is the stark reality facing many GDA members and we do not believe, especially in this climate, that there will ever be safeguards strong enough to protect disabled people from feeling pressure to relieve families and communities of their ‘burden’ of caring. Worse still, there is also a danger that disabled people will be coerced – even subtly – into considering assisted dying as the only, or obvious, option.

Both Assisted Dying Bills have been proposed by backbenchers, Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur at Holyrood, and Labour MP Kim Leadbeater at Westminster. The Bills are currently being scrutinised by the respective committees, which in the case of the Scottish Bill is the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee.

However, there are doubts over how robust and impartial the scrutiny of these Bills will be. In both cases, the parliamentarians on the Committees are largely in favour of legalising assisted dying, and a disproportionate number of witnesses called to give evidence are similarly supportive. Of the 10 MSPs who sit on the Holyrood Committee, seven signed in support of the Bill when it was proposed.

In January 2025, GDA’s CEO and Depute CEO, Tressa Burke and Marianne Scobie, gave evidence to the Committee along with representatives from other DPOs and disability organisations. The tone and line of questioning during this session did little to allay our fears of bias.

A photograph showing Tressa Burke and Marianne Scobie of GDA giving evidence to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. They are giving evidence online and the photograph shows their screenshots side-by-side. Tressa has mid-length blonde hair and is wearing glasses and a green shirt. She is against a plain beige background. Marianne is wearing a colourful, flowered shirt, her hair is in a plait and she is wearing glasses. She is sitting in front of a set of shelves.

There was a premature focus on specifics within the Bill, giving the impression its approval is a fait accompli and all that is left to do is iron out small details within it. However, there is still, clearly, a more fundamental ongoing debate over the principle and ethics of assisted dying at a time when the economy and vital public services are in crisis. If this Bill becomes law, it will mark a huge change in society and create an existential threat to disabled people.

At both the Scotland and UK level, the Bill processes must be given the time to allow careful, sober consideration of all the evidence and implications of the proposed changes. Some GDA members  have suggested that the Committees may be keen to push on quickly, as there is much evidence to indicate that the more closely people look into assisted dying; hear the arguments of those opposed; and appraise how it is working and evolving in jurisdictions where it occurs, their opinions become less favourable. This is supported by the fact that 93% of people who responded to the detailed consultation at Stage 1 were opposed to the Scottish Bill.

During the evidence session at the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, Tressa and Marianne discussed the main fears our members have regarding assisted dying and the many ways we have gathered information on this subject, including workshops, surveys, conversations and learning sessions. This helped us to form and maintain a strong representative position on behalf of almost 6000 disabled people.

So why are we so alarmed?

‘Legislative creep’: Although Liam McArthur’s Bill is aimed at those with a terminal illness, there is a real danger that any legislation to allow for assisted dying could open the door to widening the scope of eligibility criteria. The experience from jurisdictions which have passed legislation is there will be attempts to broaden the eligibility criteria, and legal challenges from those not initially included. It would be naïve to think the same would not happen in Scotland. Indeed, only this week Kim Leadbeater has proposed removing the requirement for a high court judge to decide on assisted dying cases and replace this with an expert panel to consider decisions. This brings to life the very fears which disabled people and our organisations have raised since this supposed safeguard was a centrepiece of the UK legislation.

Poverty and inequality: We are in the midst of a cost of living crisis and financial challenges are affecting services, including health and social care, which are fundamental to delivering practical support and maintaining physical and mental health and wellbeing for disabled people. Disabled people are often unable to access medical treatment and services they need and sometimes treatments are denied due to inappropriate judgements on our quality of life.

GDA’s Mental Health Matters research found that 55% of disabled people had experienced suicidal thoughts in the past 2 years, and in a recent survey of GDA members:

89% could not access mental health services that met their needs;
87% could not access health appointments and access to healthcare that met their needs;
71% could not access adequate money (through benefits or work) to meet their needs;
67% could not access social care that met their needs.

Given the inequalities and discrimination disabled people face, the majority of GDA members firmly believe that there are no proposed safeguards against assisted dying strong enough to alleviate disabled people’s fears that they could be seen as a burden and dispensable.

This anxiety is exacerbated by the ready use of Do Not Resuscitate Orders on disabled people during the Covid pandemic, often in cases where they were inappropriate and unjustified. Some were even imposed with no consultation between disabled people and those providing medical attention. It is disturbing that, in these circumstances, time and energy is being spent focusing on legislation to support people to die rather than to live.

A black and white pencil drawing shows a woman in a wheelchair on a pavement between two entrances. On her left is a door with a sign above it which says Suicide Prevention Program. There is a flight of stairs up to the door. On her right is a ramp leading to another door with a sign above it which reads Assisted Suicide. Image credit: Amy Hasbrouk

Coercion: Abuse and coercion of vulnerable people is a reality across all areas of life – within families, and in regulated settings such as care homes, schools, hospital and community support services. This is despite multiple safeguards, regulatory bodies, inquiries and prosecutions.

Coercion is very difficult to recognise, particularly where there is no guarantee the medical practitioner will have a longstanding relationship with the patient and the family members. It is acknowledged those who would be involved in advising patients and decision-making, receive little, if any, training in identifying and managing coercion.

Lack of options: We are acutely aware that end of life care is often lacking in this country. There is no legal right to palliative care, and it is largely provided by the charitable sector. If people are fearful after a terminal diagnosis, or despair at the lack of options available to them to support managing long term conditions or chronic pain, assisted dying could seem an ‘easier’ solution.

However, we believe there are alternative ways to alleviate suffering, enhance dignity and increase personal autonomy. These include increased investment in palliative care, pain management and end of life care: give people options to live, with the support they need, not support to die.

Autonomy: Supporters of assisted dying often frame the argument as one of individual autonomy and choice. But these decisions, literally of life and death, are not made in a vacuum. Legalising assisted dying will have repercussions across society and it will lead to a clash of rights between those who want to have the choice over how and when they die, and those who fear the availability of that option will only further infringe on their rights. When there is a clash of rights we ultimately need to pick a side, and we should always err on the side of those most vulnerable: those who are voiceless, powerless and need the safety net of a society which recognises and protects those most at risk.

Call for Solidarity
Write to your MSPs and MP to share these concerns and help us uphold the rights and dignity of disabled people by stopping the Bills.

If you are an MSP or MP we ask you to stand in solidarity with disabled people and vote against the assisted dying Bill. And if you don’t know – vote no!

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