Comment from Fiona Mackenzie, CEO of the Other Half, a think tank developing policy in women’s interests

This polling confirms that Scottish people are worried about the vulnerable being coerced into state death. That worry is heightened for older people and disabled people, who report the greatest concern of all the public. They may see the vulnerability and dependence of older age and disability.  We should listen to them.

We know that older adults, especially older women, are vulnerable to escalating abuse in older age, with 1 in 6 over 60s estimated to have experienced elder abuse in the last 12 months.  Over 60s are those most likely to be given assisted deaths elsewhere, yet this polling shows over 60s Scots’ fear over the risk to the vulnerable.  In new research we recommend the Scottish Government plans for 100 or more victims of domestic abuse to die each year through assisted deaths, presenting a staggering problem for all of us to face. This bill has no meaningful protection for those in domestically abusive relationships.

In our 2024 report on assisted death and women, we raised specific concern that homicidal men may exploit this new law, as they have on the lenient ‘mercy killings’. But we also know that domestic abuse is a risk factor for suicide, and some abusers already coercing women into suicide in the UK. The Scottish Government recognises the risk of suicide as an outcome of domestic abuse in its latest work on Domestic Homicide and Suicide Reviews. MSPs cannot ignore the real likelihood that this bill becomes a weapon of femicide.

on the Highlands and Islands results:

As someone from the Highlands, it does not surprise me that people there are most concerned about the risks to those vulnerable to being wrongly pushed into death by the state. In small communities you rely on each other and that means you will see all of human nature – the best and sometimes, the worse  – and ideas like ‘autonomy’ and ‘choice’ ring false when you know the reality of patchy or nonexistent services.

Comment from Isabelle Kerr, expert on violence against women and recently retired CEO of JK Rowling’s charity, Beira’s Place

“My biggest concern is that legislators, and many of those who support assisted dying, have a picture in their heads of people with a degenerative, probably terminal, disease that may take away their remaining ability to communicate and their dignity in the remaining months of their lives. People who are lucid, in control of their own decisions and facing no pressure from anyone. For a woman who has lived with, or is living with domestic abuse, there is no control, only the pressure to ensure that the abuser is appeased. Domestic abuse survivors who have lived with coercive and controlling behaviour from a partner will believe that she is the one making the decision to end her life, that it is best for everyone, and that her life is worthless as this is part of that pattern of behaviour common to many controlling and abusive men. Any medical personnel assessing applications for assisted dying would have to be highly skilled in the nuances of coercive and controlling behaviour and the ability of the abuser to groom and gaslight wider groups of people, including medical staff. This Bill may place domestic abuse survivors in even more danger from perpetrators who have contributed to their suffering, physical and psychological.”

Comment from Dr Anni Donaldson, Honorary research fellow at the University of Strathclyde and expert in domestic abuse. Note Dr Donaldson is also sending this as a letter to MSPs

I am professional in the field of violence against women and I have many concerns about the proposed legislation. 

The Bill has progressed to Stage One without the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee giving serious consideration in their final report to the risks created for terminally ill women living with domestic abuse. 

Domestic abuse is mainly perpetrated by men against women.  One in four adult women in Scotland are affected while rates for disabled women are double that. Domestic abuse-related homicides in Scotland are rising and the links between domestic abuse and women’s suicide are recognised by the Scottish Government. In this context, the absence of any consideration by those scrutinising the Assisted Dying Bill that the state may create a new form of violence against women is shocking.

Assisted dying is likely to offer a new, potentially lethal weapon to abusive men with a terminally ill partner.  The Bill relies on the consent, choice, free will and autonomy of the person wishing to end their life, all are absent in the daily lives of Scottish women living with domestic abuse.  The abuse will not stop when a woman receives a terminal illness diagnosis.   Regularly demeaned and told they are worthless and would be better off dead, their abusers’ words will weigh heavily on the minds of terminally ill women.  The existence of Assisted Dying legislation is more likely to increase women’s vulnerability, and compound the risks she faces from her abusive partner.   

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 criminalised non-physical violence and abuse within intimate relationships and is a course of conduct offence. It is unclear how this legislation would interface with the new offence created under the Assisted Dying Bill for anyone coercing or pressurising a terminally ill adult into making a first or second declaration. Women victims live with the very real fear of the consequences of disclosure and are reluctant to disclose to professionals. This places an unrealistic expectation on medical professionals to identify coercion in the highly emotional and public context of an assisted dying process. Detection requires specialised domestic abuse-informed skills and knowledge, particularly in this context. Criminal prosecutions under either law are likely to take time and verdicts may come too late to protect the woman at the centre of the case who may already be dead.

I would ask that you consider the potentially lethal context the Bill may create for so many Scottish women.  No woman coping with a terminal illness and already living with fear, violence and intimidation should have to face the prospect of being coerced into an assisted death. Please think of them on Tuesday 13 may 2025 and vote against this proposed Bill.