RPS Scotland opposes assisted dying bill

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in Scotland has announced its opposition to the assisted dying bill due to a lack of protections for pharmacists.

The organisation said it had ‘serious concerns’ that the final Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill did not contain ‘vital’ protections for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who wish to object to taking part in the assisted dying process.

The RPS said that while it is neutral on the principle of assisted dying, it is not in relation to the process and has strongly advocated for the right of pharmacists to conscientiously object.

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The RPS Scotland has submitted written and oral evidence to the Scottish Government’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and met with the bill’s sponsoring MSP Liam McArthur.

It also said that it has also suggested amendment to be tabled at every stage of the process.

But the RPS Scotland said that despite its campaigning the final Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill – which will be voted on 17 March – will not contain protections for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who may wish to object to taking part in the assisted dying process.

It added that Section 18, which describes vital protections on conscientious objection for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, had been removed from the Bill entirely.

The RPS Scotland said that the proposal is to add this back into the Bill once it is passed via a Section 104 order - a process which the RPS and other organisations have described as secondary legislation that receives ‘only limited parliamentary scrutiny’.

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The RPS also said that Section 15 (1A), which would have ensured that a registered pharmacist supplied the substance for use in the process, was removed from the Bill at Stage 3. It is now uncertain whether pharmacists would be able to object to supplying the substance, as this process is not described anywhere in the legislation, it added.

Laura Wilson, RPS director in Scotland, said: ‘We have been clear throughout the bill’s passage that it is imperative that any legislation which is brought forward to legalise assisted dying, provides an opportunity for pharmacists to either take part, or not take part in the process, based on their individual views.

‘Pharmacists should neither be expected to supply the substance for use in the assisted dying process, or assist directly at the point of assisted death, if they have a moral, religious or ethical objection to doing so.’

Last month, a group of medical and healthcare organisations – including the RPS – raised concerns about these changes in a letter to senior figures in the Scottish government.

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In a letter they said: ‘The prospect of removing matters of such professional, ethical, and legal significance from parliamentary scrutiny at stage three, and deferring them to secondary legislation after the Bill has passed, raises important questions about transparency, accountability, and the robustness of the legislative process.

‘These protections are central to the safe, ethical, and fair delivery of care, and to the confidence of our medical workforce who may be affected by the legislation.’