I am deeply concerned that legal assisted dying in Scotland could become a domestic abuse perpetrator’s ultimate act of control over their terminally ill partner, with women most at risk of harm.

Domestic abuse and coercive control don’t stop when a woman is diagnosed with a terminal illness and there is a high risk that an abusive partner will take control of the assisted dying process.

The Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill relies on the consent, choice, free will and autonomy of the person wishing to end their life – all of these are denied to women living with abusive partners.

The Bill also relies on doctors ensuring a patient’s consent to death is given freely. Without expertise in identifying the interpersonal dynamics of domestic abuse and coercion, doctors may unwittingly collude with abusers.

The ‘safeguards’ currently included within the bill would not ensure that cases of coercion are identified and given the hidden and insidious nature of this crime, there is no way to guarantee against wrongful deaths.

By introducing an assisted dying regime, Scotland could offer a new, potentially lethal weapon to abusive men whose partners have been diagnosed with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

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