{"id":103165,"date":"2025-05-15T09:33:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T09:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/103165\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T09:33:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T09:33:21","slug":"paisley-msp-says-wife-deserves-the-right-to-choose-how-her-life-ends-in-moving-speech-to-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/103165\/","title":{"rendered":"Paisley MSP says wife deserves the right to \u201cchoose how her life ends\u201d in moving speech to parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Adam \u2013 whose wife Stacey lives with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis \u2013 delivered an emotional speech during the Assisted Dying Bill debate.<\/p>\n

04:30, 15 May 2025Updated 07:39, 15 May 2025<\/p>\n

\"GeorgeGeorge Adam MSP during his speech to the Scottish Parliament(Image: supplied)<\/p>\n

The Assisted Dying Bill<\/a> has passed the first hurdle in the Scottish Parliament with the backing of an emotional George Adam.<\/p>\n

The MSP for Paisley<\/a> \u2013 whose wife Stacey lives with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis \u2013 said she deserves the right to \u201cchoose how her life ends\u201d.<\/p>\n

The bill had been tabled by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, who said people diagnosed with a terminal illness should have the right to a dignified and peaceful death.<\/p>\n

Those in favour of the bill said it sought to ease suffering for dying people, while those who voted against it said they had grave concerns that the most vulnerable in society may be pressured into ending their lives early.<\/p>\n

For George however the issue is \u201cdeeply personal\u201d given his wife\u2019s fragile health.<\/p>\n

While Stacey\u2019s MS, asthma and osteoporosis are not considered terminal, he said the couple have been forced to think about how they could lead to a serious terminal event in later life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the road ahead could get harder,\u201d he told a packed Scottish Parliament<\/a>. \u201cLet me be clear, on their own many of Stacey\u2019s conditions won\u2019t qualify under this bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cMS isn\u2019t classified as terminal, nor is asthma, nor is osteoporosis, but together in someone with secondary progressive MS and a weakened immune system, these conditions could lead to a serious terminal event in later life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why this bill matters because it recognises that illness isn\u2019t straight forward, that someone can live with chronic conditions for years and then reach a point where death is close and the suffering is great.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why Stacey and I support Liam McArthur\u2019s bill, not because it\u2019s about us now, but because one day it might be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that time never comes but if it does, if the suffering becomes unbearable, Stacey should have that right to choose how her life ends with dignity, with compassion and surrounded by those who love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Explaining the bill sought to not only empower those with incurable illnesses, George said the bill would enable families to fulfil the dying wishes of their loved ones at a time when they too are under immeasurable strain.<\/p>\n

Speaking as Stacey sat in the public gallery, he added: \u201cThe truth is I don\u2019t know if I would be strong enough to let go. The thought of life without her is unbearable. I know that\u2019s selfish but I\u2019m a human being.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the song goes, \u2018she\u2019s every thought, she\u2019s everything, she\u2019s every song I ever sing\u2019. I don\u2019t want to make that decision, I want Stacey to be able to decide and that\u2019s what this bill is about.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Stacey, for me, for thousands of other families, it\u2019s about having that choice of a peaceful, dignified end if and when that comes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI support this bill not just as a politician but as a husband because my wife has shaped by life, my career, my values and I owe her to stand here today and say yes, we trust people to make the most personal decision of all, yes we trust them to know when enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recognising the concerns around coercion, pressure and early death, George said he was reassured by a number of safeguards within the bill including: Two doctors must agree the person is terminally ill, the person must be mentally capable, there is a waiting period and there are multiple steps to confirm it\u2019s informed and voluntary.<\/p>\n

Don’t miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines \u2013 <\/strong>you can sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"George Adam \u2013 whose wife Stacey lives with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis \u2013 delivered an emotional speech during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,918,4884,8940,8941,8942,712,17038,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-103165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-glasgow","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-paisley","12":"tag-paisley-news","13":"tag-renfrewshire","14":"tag-scotland","15":"tag-scottish-parliament","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114511164672556426","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}