Richard Selley

That the Parliament expresses its sadness and condolences following the death of Richard Selley, who recently travelled to Dignitas in Switzerland to have an assisted death; notes the profound difficulties that it believes he experienced travelling with the advanced stages of motor neurone disease; commends the bravery and courage shown by Richard, and his wife, Elaine, for telling their story as part of Dignity in Dying Scotland’s campaign; notes that research from Dignity in Dying shows that 11 people in Scotland per week suffer an intolerable, painful death; considers that even outstanding palliative care cannot and does not work for all people at the end of their lives; notes the importance of organisations, such as Dignity in Dying Scotland, Friends at the End and the Humanist Society Scotland, working together to develop an evidence-based approach to the ongoing debate on assisted dying, and understands that only 6% of Scots, including those in Edinburgh Western, believe that the law on assisted dying is working well for dying people.