Vocal warnings have been issued to Members of the Scottish Parliament [MSPs] that assisted suicide legislation can never be made safe.

Dr Miro Griffiths, an expert advisor on disability and spokesman for the Better Way campaign made the comments in opposition to Canadian experts who argue the law in their land is “working well”.

Dr Griffiths said: ” Assisted dying campaigners say that a Scottish system would be different to Canada – stricter and more limited, like Australia and New Zealand.

“The problem with this assertion is that in other nations where the practice is legal, supporters said the same thing. Intention does not necessarily match outcome – and with this issue, it never does”.

“Canada’s law was meant to be narrow and strict. ‘Assisted dying’ was initially for people with terminal illnesses whose deaths were deemed ‘reasonably foreseeable’. However, it quickly became permissive. Disabled people whose deaths are not ‘reasonably foreseeable’ are now eligible. From next year, people with mental illnesses will be eligible as well.

She added that a similar story of expansion can be seen in Belgium and the Netherlands – countries with long-standing euthanasia laws while Switzerland grows more permissive year on year. In California, “assisted deaths have climbed significantly after a mandatory waiting period was cut by 13 days”.

“The direction of travel is always easier access, for more people”, she concluded.