Latest news with #ScottishBill
STV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- STV News
Polluters could face 20 years in prison under plans for UK-first law in Scotland
Scotland could become the first nation in the UK to criminalise ecocide under new proposals at Holyrood. The Ecocide (Scotland) Bill would make it a criminal offence to cause widespread, long-term or irreversible environmental damage. Those who fall foul of the law could face up to 20 years in prison while companies could receive unlimited fines, if the legislation is ultimately passed. The Bill has been launched by Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who said it would deter people and firms from harming Scotland's natural environment. Scrutiny of the Bill is expected to begin before the summer recess, with a vote on it later this year. It would create a crime of ecocide, defined as causing severe environmental harm either intentionally or through recklessness, where the harm is widespread, long-term or irreversible. It would also seek to hold senior executives at companies liable when offences involve their consent, connivance or neglect. Lennon said her Bill would send a strong message to polluters. She said: 'I'm delighted to be publishing the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament today, on a strong foundation of cross-party and public support. 'With ecocide law, Scotland can take bold and necessary action against severe environmental damage. 'Environmental destruction isn't some distant issue for the people of Scotland – it directly threatens health, livelihoods, and the future of entire communities. 'From sewage spilling into waterways to toxic pollution left behind by heavy industry, the damage is real and ongoing. 'Ecocide is a crime against the common good, and those who commit widespread or irreversible harm should be held to account. 'This is a vital opportunity for Scotland to become the first UK nation to criminalise ecocide and signal that the destruction of nature won't be tolerated here.' Jojo Mehta, chief executive and co-founder of Stop Ecocide International, said: 'This Scottish Bill is a striking example of how national action can drive global change. 'Around the world, ecocide law is gaining ground as a vital tool – not just to punish environmental destruction, but to prevent it. 'While the ultimate goal is to have ecocide recognised as a serious crime all over the world, national laws play a crucial role in legitimising that goal, building momentum, and providing accountability now. 'They help shape legal norms that are increasingly being reflected in international frameworks. 'From the new Council of Europe Convention, which enables states to prosecute acts 'tantamount to ecocide', to the formal proposal by Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa to make ecocide a core international crime, momentum is accelerating. 'Scotland's move adds meaningful weight to this shift, reinforcing the growing global consensus that mass destruction of nature must be treated as a crime, in law, and in principle.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Mistaken diagnosis led to me making needless plans to end it all
The vote in favour of the Scottish Assisted Dying Bill at Stage 1 fills me with dread. I know from personal experience that doctors can make serious errors and that people will die needlessly if this legislation is ultimately passed. Any MSP who voted for the Bill today, and who ends up voting it into law in the coming months, should the Bill make further progress through its stages, must understand this. It has been emphasised that this is a conscience issue for MSPs. That is correct. MSPs voting for the law to change will have to satisfy their consciences and confront the distinct probability that – however inadvertently – they will almost certainly facilitate the death of people who had no reason to die. We aren't quite there yet. Fortunately, this was a Stage 1 vote only. As the Bill sponsor and others have made clear, this vote was on the broad principles of the Bill, not all the finer detail. I appreciate that many MSPs voted for the Bill at Stage 1 so that the debate may continue. For many, it was qualified support only, and they may change their mind at a later date before it comes into law. I sincerely hope they do so. Protesters outside the Scottish Parliament during the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill Since January last year, I have been through a living nightmare after being misdiagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). In my despair on hearing the diagnosis, I immediately started planning how I could end my life before the illness took hold. As I left the doctor's surgery following the diagnosis, I rang a friend and asked if he would come with me to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. He reluctantly agreed. Although I have no specialist medical knowledge, I knew enough about MND to know it is a terrifying condition. The sufferer gradually loses all muscle strength, leading ultimately to an inability to breathe, swallow or even speak. The Harley Street specialist I had seen referred me to one of the UK's leading neurologists for a second opinion. He gave me a full body examination and said that he agreed. MND was confirmed. From that moment on, all the correspondence with the hospital said my condition was MND rather than suspected MND. He was keen that I should participate in drug trials. Rather to my shame, I declined. All drugs have side effects, and I could not face additional hardship as I prepared for death. Being single and living alone, I could not contemplate how I would cope with the gradual physical decline. I have good friends and family but how could I ask them to deal with this? Suicide seemed the best option – even though, as a convert to Catholicism, I realised this was against the Church's teaching. But my initial feelings of panic and despair began slowly to recede. There were two reasons. The first was the excellent treatment I received at the hands of the NHS. I was given a specialist nurse to contact at any time of the day or night. I was surrounded by specialists to help me manage any problems I had with movement, breathing or swallowing. I was sent to a palliative care doctor to discuss my end-of-life wishes, and I was contacted by social services who asked if I needed any modifications to my flat. But the second reason was that I was not experiencing the expected symptoms of MND. Indeed, I was starting to feel slightly better. The fasciculations had stopped and the weakness in my right hand was hardly getting worse. Initially, the senior specialist said that MND was an unpredictable condition and that sometimes it progressed very slowly. But by October 2024 the anomaly of my continuing good health was so great that I was sent for further nerve conductivity tests. Although these had been carried out in January, the neurologist sent me to a different specialist to repeat them. The tests involved inserting needles in my arms and running a current through them. The result was literally unbelievable. The doctor told me I had been misdiagnosed. I was suffering not from MND but from a mild auto- immune condition called Multifocal Motor Neuropathy which is not life-threatening and for which there are treatments available. Ironically my sister had found reference to this milder condition back in February 2024 but the suggestion had been dismissed by the Harley Street specialist. What lessons can be drawn from my experience in relation to the Bill that has just been approved? The chief 'safeguard' of the Bill is that two doctors must agree that the person requesting assisted suicide must be terminally ill. This is intended to give rock-solid assurance against mistakes being made. In my case two eminent specialists agreed that I had MND and that, in the worst case, I could have between two and six months to live. They were both wrong, but I believed them. If I had taken them at their word, and this Bill were law, I could be dead by now. No doubt friends and acquaintances would say that I had taken a brave decision to die with dignity. But it would have been a mistake and, once made, no further investigations would follow. I would have died needlessly. The reality is that the Scottish assisted suicide Bill is even more dangerous than the English equivalent. As we've seen with the Leadbeater Bill south of the Border, a victory at this stage doesn't by any stretch of the imagination mean it's guaranteed to become law. I fervently hope that it doesn't.
Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Scotland's Parliament approves assisted dying Bill in key vote
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. PHOTO: REUTERS LONDON - The Scottish Parliament voted on May 13 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 in 2024 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, Mr 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. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
