Weak argument

Bob Taylor (Letters, 21 June) seems to argue that the well thought out opposition to assisted suicide from groups such as the medical profession should be ignored in favour of opinion polls which suggest public support for its legalisation. However, he himself articulates the weakness of such an argument in noting that the first duty of government is to protect the most vulnerable.

MSPs have a duty to think through the consequences of allowing killing as a treatment for illness, and of turning the medical profession into the instruments of that policy. The dangers of such radical changes need much more careful consideration than just opinion polls.

(DR) STEPHEN WATT

Greenfield Crescent

Balerno