Cancer patient urges MSPs to ‘do right for Scotland’ and pass assisted dying law

A woman with terminal breast cancer has made an emotional plea to MSPS to back new legislation to introduce assisted dying in Scotland – urging them to “do right for Scotland”.

Kate Buchanan, 60, said she did not want her children to see her suffering at the end of her life – adding that legislation introduced by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur was “the only way I can see that happening”.

She broke down in tears as she addressed a fringe event at the SNP conference to discuss the issue, telling the audience there that being diagnosed with terminal cancer was “a bit shit”

However she said the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill , if passed, would “make it so much less so”.

If passed, that legislation would give people over the age of 16 suffering from an advanced terminal illness be given the option of the option of requesting an assisted death.

MSPs are due to begin scrutiny of the proposals when Holyrood returns after its summer recess.

Ms Buchanan, a mother of five was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer – which she said was “the worst kind of the disease” – after finding a lump in her breast in September 2023.

As she spoke about her situation, she urged the politicians at the event to “think about me and my family” when they consider the legislation.

She appealed to them: “When you are debating this, if you are MSPs, think of me and think of my family when you are debating this, and all the other hundreds of families that are going through exactly the same thing.

“And do right, do right for Scotland.”

She told the audience at the event: “I don’t want to die, but I am going to, just like everybody in this room.

“But I know that I will die sooner than most of the rest of you.”

She continued: “I want to be just like the rest of you – not thinking about dying all the time.

“But I can’t, it consumes me, it totally dominates my living, worrying about what is going to happen to me and my family.

“I want my children to not see me suffering, I want to mitigate that.

“And the only way I can see that happening is through this Bill passing.”

Adding that the legislation was “really well constructed” and should not be “open to abuse”, she told how working as a celebrant at funerals meant she had dealt with families who had been “utterly worn down” if their loved one had a prolonged period of suffering.

Mr McArthur’s Bill will be the third time MSPs have voted on assisted dying – with previous attempts to pass legislation through the Scottish Parliament having been defeated overwhelmingly.

But SNP MSP Rona Mackay, the convener of the End of Life Choices cross-party group at Holyrood, said she believed this time the legislation would get approval.

She described Mr McArthur’s Bill as being “vastly different from the two previous Bills that were put before Parliament” and added: “I personally believe this one will pass when it comes to Parliament, because of the tightly drawn nature of this Bill.”