Disabled MSP 'regularly' told by strangers they'd rather be dead than live like her
SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: Pam Duncan-Glancy spoke about her experiences after MSPs voted in favour of Assisted Dying legislation.
MSPs took a step closer to legalising assisted death in Scotland last week as a vote passed its first stage in Holyrood.
For some campaigners the win has been hailed as a huge victory and the first step toward making the proposals a reality.
Liam McArthur, the Liberal Democrat MSP who drafted the bill, said it was a 'landmark moment for Scotland' which could give terminally ill people a 'compassionate choice' to end their lives with medical assistance.
Others say that such legislation could be the start of a slippery slope, arguing it devalues the lives of disabled people and those with chronic conditions and have raised concerns that people could be coerced into ending their lives prematurely.
While at this first stage 70 MSPs voted in support of the plans, 55 voted against. It will now have to pass two more stages before it can become law in Scotland.
Similar plans for England are in the process of going through Westminster with MPs debating dozens of amendments to Labour MP Kim Leadbetter's legislation for hours on Friday, eventually running out of time.
In Holyrood parliamentarians gave similarly emotive speeches about why they felt so strongly in favour of, or against, allowing assisted dying in Scotland.
Among them were Pam Duncan-Glancy, Labour MSP for Glasgow and George Adam, SNP MSP for Paisley who are both on opposite sides of the debate.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy made history in May 2021 when she became the first wheelchair user to be elected to Holyrood.
Her journey to get there wasn't easy. On the night of her election victory she faced a 45-minute rigmarole to get into the Glasgow counting facility with staff questioning her presence and disbelieving she was Labour's parliamentary candidate.
Despite struggles, Duncan-Glancy said she values what life has to offer and is afraid that the Assisted Dying legislation could devalue the lives of disabled people.
The MSP was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis at just 18 months old - a condition that has caused her joints to fuse and has seen her use a wheelchair since the age of five.
Having such a visible disability has attracted comments which she said highlighted a perception of disabled lives being in some way lesser than those of non- disabled people's.
She said: 'We get it on a daily basis, but I don't think society quite sees it - it's just bubbling under the surface. People do live like we do - in pain, suffering, in intolerable circumstances. But despite all of that, with support and family around us, we have good lives.
'I have had strangers come up to me and say 'You're such an inspiration. I just couldn't live like you. I couldn't live if I had to put up with all that. I couldn't be here anymore.'
'Their intention is always kind but there is the perception that I must have such a terrible life.
'The man who gave me my very first job was paralysed from the neck down. He drove a Mercedes van, worked all across the world and was a leading professional in his field.'
The 43-year-old said that she fears that disabled people could feel pressure to end their lives prematurely if assisted dying was legalised in Scotland.
She said: 'There's overt coercion, where a family member or someone could benefit from a person's death and that's probably the easiest to detect.
'There's also covert coercion. For some people they might think they are a burden. Their family is burnt out having to care for them, they are being pushed to the absolute limit. Nobody is saying they want them to die but they know them being there is making life difficult for their family.
You can see in a situation where families are on the brink and the person relying on them feels terrible. How are you supposed to detect or identify that? How on earth is a GP picking that up in seven minutes, if you can get your GP in the first place?'
Duncan-Glancy said she understands the emotional reaction from those in support of the legislation but believes 'no amount of amendments' would make the doubts she has about it disappear.
George Adam
SNP MSP George Adam said he and his wife Stacey have become the 'Posh and Becks' of Holyrood since his emotive speech on his support for the Assisted Dying Bill last week, with journalists and campaigners eager to speak to them in parliament.
The couple have been married for 28 years and said they have always been in support of people having the choice to end their lives if they are facing a painful death but until recently haven't had much opportunity to publicly discuss it.
Stacey, 52, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at the age of 16. Her condition, caused by lesions on the brain and which causes muscle weakness and mobility problems, means she relies on a wheelchair to get around.
Stacey's diagnosis would not on its own make her eligible for an assisted death but due to her reduced immune system it could lead to secondary infections or conditions that would enable her to have medical assistance to end her life.
Adams said he was supportive of the bill as he wanted people like Stacey the ability to choose how their lives end, if they were eligible, and said it was 'not about disability rights'.
The 55-year-old MSP said: 'I see all these people discussing disability rights.
'That's not what this bill's about. I'm quite happy to join with them and campaign after this is done because I agree disabled people are a minority group that are not getting the rights they should be getting
'But this bill is not about that. Being a disabled person does not mean you are eligible. The criteria would be for a terminal illness which is not the same.'
Stacey said: 'Disabled people are not terminal. Saying that this is coming after disabled people is just not true and it's scaremongering actually.
'Since I was young my family have always talked about death and dying, and I've always felt supportive of assisted dying.'
Stacey said her mum stopped taking her medication at the end of her life, despite being an experienced nurse and knowing the importance of it.
She was taken into hospital but died shortly afterwards.
It is this situation the couple say is what they want to avoid people resorting to in future.
Adams, 55, said: 'By the time she was in hospital her organs were swimming in fluid. She was effectively drowning.
'We still don't know exactly what was wrong, the doctor said she was not a well woman. 'With hindsight, we think she knew from her experience as a health professional that something was not right which is why she stopped her medication.'
The Assisted Dying bill will now be scrutinised by a committee of MSPs and amendments made before any final vote takes place.
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