| Q. Will the Adults
with Incapacity Bill “legalise” active or passive euthanasia?
A. Absolutely not. The Scottish Executive
does not believe that euthanasia should be legalised in any form.
There will be no change to the law with regards to euthanasia in Scotland.
Q. How will this
be enforced?
A. Any act of euthanasia, in which the
injuries are not self-inflicted, would be regarded as the deliberate killing
of another, and would be dealt with under Scots law, as a criminal act
of homicide. Any health professional, like any other individual who
acted by any means – be it withholding treatment or by denying basic care
such as food or drink – with the objective of euthanasia, would be open
to prosecution under criminal law.
Q. Why have the
Bill in the first place?
A. The Bill is necessary to empower adults
with incapacity. It ensures that doctors, patients and families know
exactly where they stand with relation to adults with incapacity.
It also empowers the families and carers of patients and puts in place
a number of safeguards which ensure that euthanasia is impossible to practice.
Q. What does the
Executive hope to achieve with this Bill?
A. The Executive has three main aims with
the Bill;
1.
To clarify the issue of treatment of
adults with incapacity rather than cloud it.
2.
To ensure that doctors must take into
account the views of those close to the patient before giving treatment.
3.
To ensure that any treatment must be
designed to safeguard or promote the physical or mental health of the adult.
Q. Could doctors
not practice unchecked euthanasia, if they alone believed that it was in
the “best interests” of the patient?
A. There is no chance of this. There
are a number of safeguards in place to prevent this from happening?
Q. What are these
safeguards?
A. Before administering treatment, a doctor
must;
1.
Satisfy himself that the treatment will
benefit the adult, in a way that no other treatment can.
2.
Satisfy himself that the treatment
is the one which least restricts the freedom of the adult with incapacity.
3.
Take account of the views of the nearest
relative, primary carer and any guardian or attorney who has been appointed.
4.
Examine whether or not his action would
be regarded by others as “reasonable”.
5.
Assess whether the proposed action
will safeguard or promote the physical or mental health of the patient.
6.
Follow his professional judgement,
act in accordance with his professional ethics and comply with the general
law.
Click
here to read the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Bill
Click
here to read the Parliament's debate on the Adults with Incapacity Bill
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