Margo: I want to research my own death at euthanasia clinic abroad

MARGO MacDonald, the veteran MSP, is planning to research foreign suicide clinics which allow those with terminal illnesses to end their own lives.

The 64-year-old, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, recently told fellow MSPs that she should be allowed to bring about her own death if the condition deteriorates. She is now calling for a public debate on assisted suicide.

Ms MacDonald, the independent MSP for the Lothians, said: "I want to research the whole topic."

She said she had not investigated how assisted suicide clinics operate before, adding: "I'm not exactly at death's door."

But she added: "I feel a responsibility because I've spoken about the principle of the thing. I've got to get to know about the practicalities and I've got to hear all sorts of opinions." Last month Ms MacDonald told MSPs: "I want to find a way in which I can take the decision to end my life in case I'm unlucky enough to have the worst form of Parkinson's near the end of life."

Scots law does not permit people to assist in taking a life and the health secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, has said the Scottish Government has no plans to change that.

In countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and the state of Oregon in the US, assisted suicide is legal, while in Switzerland, it is decriminalised.

Ms MacDonald argued the situation meant that people suffering from a terminal disease who wanted to end their own lives had little alternative other than going to an assisted suicide clinic abroad. She said: "People have no other option if they want to make sure they don't criminalise anyone in the UK, and nobody wants to do that. Nobody wants to put that burden on anybody."

While Ms MacDonald stressed she supported palliative care, she added: "Hospices aren't anything like as widespread as I would want to see them, and there is no doubt about it that palliative care varies from district to district."

Sheila Duffy, a member of Friends At The End (Fate), a Scotland-based group which campaigns for a change in assisted suicide laws and promotes knowledge about the issue, said: "

Margo has obviously thought about this, it's not some knee-jerk reaction.

"It does require courage to do this sort of thing. Most people don't want to face up to the fact that we are going to die.

"We have written to her saying that she is raising the profile of this issue and speaking for a lot of people who don't have anyone to speak for them."

Ms Duffy said, however, that politicians were still unwilling to consider the issue of assisted suicide, pointing to the Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis' failure to introduce a debate on it.

"We feel that this is a situation where public opinion is in front of politicians, who are very afraid to touch it anyway."

'Once you take this last drink, there is no going back'

Dr Michael Schmidt, a retired GP who was struck off in 2005 for assisting a patient's suicide and has accompanied three people to an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland, claims it is a 'matter-of-fact' process for those who have decided to end their own lives.

IT'S quite a long process. People imagine you can just jump on a plane and go over there, go to the flat the next day and you die, but that's not the case.

You've got to join the organisation Dignitas first; there are about 1,000 members in the UK. I'm a member – it's a bit like an insurance policy. If you develop a terminal illness, you have to produce medical reports, which is not always easy, because if doctors know what you're planning, they may be reluctant to do this.

These reports are evaluated by the doctors on the board of Dignitas. They give a provisional green light, which means the patient qualifies for their help, but you will still have to wait a month or two before you're given a date when you can go there. So it can take four to six months from the beginning of the process.

Taking into account flights and hotels, it costs £3,000-£4,500.

When I visited, it was based in a flat in a residential block in Zurich, but after objections from other homeowners, it has moved on to another premises in an industrial estate.

It is a very dignified process. When you get to Zurich you have to see two of their doctors on two separate days before you can go to the flat. This can be stressful for the families, so you have to be very tough-minded to go through with it.

Basically, you go up to the flat; it is very nicely furnished, nice paintings on the wall and very peaceful. You can sit around the table with your family and friends.

The last time I was there, the man's business had been Motown music. He was gay, and he sat with his partner and two of their friends and listened to Motown music for the last hour or so. It was like a celebration in a way and such a dignified process.

In the run-up to the actual act, the patients are asked several times: "Do you really want to do this?" The point is made that "once you take this last drink, there is no going back, this is the end".

The attitude tends to be one of resignation, but also a sense of finally being at peace.

The paramedics present give the patient something to settle the stomach about half an hour before they take the barbiturate solution.

The barbiturates come in a sherry-sized glass and are very bitter. You've got to drink the solution pretty quickly, in a matter of a minute or so, or you won't drink enough and just slip into a coma and you're worse off.

Having seen three people go through this, I would say they get drowsy in two minutes, fall into a coma in five minutes and are dead in 20 minutes.

The last few minutes are taped, for the security, police and medical examiner, because they have to make certain the person took it voluntarily.

Once the person has died, the police and medical factor comes, usually within half an hour. They're very friendly. They say: "I'm sorry you had to go through with this." They look over the body and look at the video, then give the OK for the body to be taken away. They're usually cremated and their ashes sent back.

The Dignitas staff are very friendly. They offer chocolate, tea and, after the person has died, brandy to those who are there. It's not like a celebration; that would be macabre. It's just a very matter-of-fact process.