
Scottish parliament approves assisted dying bill in key vote
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Scottish Parliament Building, in Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Lesley Martin/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) -The Scottish parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of a bill that would allow people living in Scotland with a terminal illness to take their own lives, bringing the proposal a step closer to becoming a reality in the country.
Ahead of a final vote, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill will move to a committee stage where it will be scrutinised and amended by members of the Scottish parliament.
If the legislation is passed, Scotland would join countries such as Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Austria and Ecuador in allowing assisted dying in certain circumstances.
It comes after a historic vote last year in the British parliament in which lawmakers backed a bill to allow assisted dying in England and Wales.
The Scottish bill would give mentally competent adults who have been diagnosed with a terminal condition the right to end their life, assisted by health professionals.
The legislation would include safeguards such as independent assessments by two doctors and a 14-day cooling-off period. There would be a requirement for those requesting an assisted death to have lived in Scotland for at least a year.
Individuals would need to self-administer the substance that would end their life.
The bill was proposed by Liberal Democrat member of the Scottish parliament Liam McArthur in 2021, and it is the third time that lawmakers in Scotland have voted on such legislation. The last vote was in 2015.
Ahead of the vote, McArthur joined supporters outside the Scottish parliament and said he believed the "political mood has shifted dramatically over the last 10 years".
Polls show a majority of Britons back assisted dying and supporters say the law needs to catch up with public opinion. Opponents say the bill would fail to safeguard those most vulnerable.
Campaign group Better Way said on its website it was concerned the bill, as drafted, could lead to injustices against people with disabilities, those living with dementia and others.
"People would feel pressure to die due to inequality; coercion of vulnerable people could not be ruled out; and eligibility criteria would be challenged in the courts," said Better Way spokesman Miro Griffiths.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
38 minutes ago
- The Star
News Analysis: Britain's spending review signals ambition, but faces fiscal, delivery test
By Zhao Xiaona, Larry Neild LONDON, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Labour government has launched its most ambitious spending review in over a decade, pledging large-scale investments in health, defence, housing and regional infrastructure as part of a broader plan to "renew Britain." The review signals a clear break from past austerity and outlines the country's fiscal and political direction through 2030. However, analysts caution that the bold agenda, unveiled against a backdrop of high public debt and economic uncertainty, will ultimately be judged on whether it delivers tangible results without compromising fiscal sustainability. AMBITIOUS PLANS WITH MIXED BUDGETS British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves presented the first full-scale spending review of the new government to Parliament on Wednesday. It sets departmental budgets through 2029 and capital investment plans to 2030, framed as a blueprint for long-term renewal. Reeves pledged an end to austerity, insisting on fiscal discipline. The review includes a 29 billion pounds (39 billion U.S. dollars) annual uplift in the National Health Service's operational budget, representing a 3 percent real-terms annual increase to support general practitioner training, school-based mental health care, and digital transformation in health services. Defence spending is set to rise from 2.3 percent to 2.6 percent of gross domestic product by 2027, with funds allocated to nuclear deterrence, munitions production, and military housing. In housing, the government pledged 39 billion pounds over 10 years for social and affordable homebuilding, along with 10 billion pounds in financing to attract private investment. A further 15.6 billion pounds will be directed toward local transport upgrades, including the Oxford-Cambridge rail corridor and the TransPennine Route in northern England. However, not all departments will see gains. The Home Office will face a 1.7 percent annual average real-terms cut to its operating budget, while the Foreign Office will see a 6.9 percent reduction, largely from scaled-back overseas aid. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will face a 2.7 percent cut, and budgets for culture, non-core education, and digital policy are expected to remain flat or decline by the end of the review period. Meanwhile, the government expects savings from ending hotel accommodation for asylum seekers - estimated to save around 1 billion pounds annually. FROM BLUEPRINT TO BUDGETARY STRAIN While the review was welcomed by some as a strategic reset, experts and opposition voices raised concerns about its fiscal viability and delivery risks. Professor Iain Begg of the London School of Economics told Xinhua that the plan marked a "strategic adjustment" rather than a structural overhaul. He welcomed investment in long-neglected northern regions but cautioned that expected savings from digitisation in health and tax administration "often fall short of government hopes." Britain's fiscal headroom remains limited. Public debt now exceeds 100 percent of gross domestic product, and borrowing in the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year reached 148.3 billion pounds. Debt interest costs have nearly doubled since 2018, now accounting for nearly 10 percent of total public spending. Despite leading G7 nations in first-quarter 2025 growth at 0.7 percent, the economy still faces inflation at 3.4 percent and rising unemployment at 4.6 percent. Against this backdrop, the review's ambitions face significant delivery risks. Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, observed that while headline spending appears generous, much of it is front-loaded in the first two years of the current Parliament. "Take Phase Two alone, from 2026 to 2029, and the picture is tighter," he said. He pointed out that eight departments will actually see real-terms cuts by the end of the review period, with schools, the environment, and overseas aid among the biggest losers. Johnson also questioned whether the NHS funding increase would be sufficient to achieve its most ambitious target: restoring the 18-week waiting time guarantee for hospital treatment. Much of the Chancellor's strategy relies on expanded capital investment. The government plans to spend an additional 113 billion pounds on long-term infrastructure over the life of the Parliament, from green energy projects to new rail lines and prisons. But the same period is also expected to see 140 billion pounds in additional borrowing, a figure that raises concerns about the cost of debt servicing. "The question is whether the extra investment will deliver enough benefits to justify the rising cost of public debt," said Johnson. The opposition Conservative Party strongly criticised the plan. British Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride warned of "a cruel summer of speculation" over future tax hikes, arguing that Labour's reliance on borrowing would soon demand fiscal correction. The leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch added that such borrowing risked "choking private investment and burdening the next generation." Britain has struggled with delays and cost overruns in public infrastructure. The NHS faces chronic staff shortages, and some expected savings, such as from ending hotel use for asylum seekers or rapid digitalisation, remain speculative. With public expectations high and economic conditions fragile, analysts stress that implementation will be the ultimate test. "The Treasury has shown its priorities," said Johnson. "The question is not just whether the money is enough, but whether it will be well spent." (1 pound = 1.35 U.S. dollar)


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Zelenskiy says Russia seeks to disrupt Ukraine, Moldova, southeastern Europe
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press briefing following phone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump, amid Russia?s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo ODESA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday Russia was determined to sow chaos in and destroy the south of his country as well as nearby Moldova and Romania, and called for increased pressure on Moscow to prevent further military threats. Zelenskiy, addressing a conference of southeast European leaders in the Black Sea port of Odesa, said collective efforts were needed to keep Moscow from causing further disruption. "The security of Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea is indivisible ... Today, we are forced to fight not only for our country, but also for this reality to become the cornerstone of a new regional policy," Zelenskiy said on Telegram. "We are here in Odesa, a city that Russia wants to destroy, as it has destroyed countless other cities. Russian military plans are aimed at this region, and then at the borders with Moldova and Romania. We need protection now. But even more, we need long-term guarantees that this will never happen again." Odesa, site of three ports, has been a frequent target of Russian air strikes in three years of war. The city came under a massive drone attack on Monday that targeted an emergency medical building, a maternity ward and residential buildings. Much attention has focused on a possible Russian threat to Moldova, where pro-European President Maia Sandu has accused Moscow of trying to destabilise her country and unseat her. Her Party of Action and Solidarity, which holds a majority in parliament, faces a general election in September, the outcome of which could affect the president's ability to press on with a campaign to join the European Union in 2030. Ukraine has also started talks on EU membership. "For three decades, Russia has tried to keep Moldova poor and unstable in order to take full control of it," Zelenskiy said. "If Europe loses in Moldova this year, it will embolden Russia to meddle even more in your countries' affairs, taking away your resources, your sovereignty, even your history." Sandu told the conference that Moldova "knows just what hybrid war is and is prepared to share its experience". "Moldova is facing one of its most important elections. Russia wants to see Moldova turn away from Ukraine. More to the point, it wants to use Moldova against Ukraine and the EU." (Additional reporting by Alexander Tanas in Chisinau; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Sandra Maler)


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
North Korea will always stand with Russia, leader Kim tells Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in Vladivostok, Russia April 25, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will always stand with Moscow, state media reported on Thursday. In a message for Russia Day, a patriotic holiday celebrating Russia's independence, Kim called Putin his "dearest comrade" and praised their bilateral relations as a "genuine relationship between comrades-in-arms," KCNA reported. "It is an unshakable will of the government of the DPRK and of my own steadfastly to carry on the DPRK-Russia relations," Kim was quoted as saying. The DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. KCNA reported on Wednesday that Kim had sent congratulations on Russia Day to Putin. Earlier this year, Pyongyang for the first time confirmed that it had sent troops to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine under orders from leader Kim Jong Un after months of silence. (Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Sandra Maler)