Holyrood View - The most difficult decision to take

And that relatively brief period is going to set me the most difficult voting decision I have faced in nearly 15 years as a member of parliament.

A matter of days before the parliamentary session draws to a close we as MSPs will be asked to determine whether the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults(Scotland) Bill passes into law.

I supported the legislation at Stage One because I believe in the principle of such an option being available to all of us, albeit in clearly defined circumstances.

However, I did so expressing reservations about aspects of the original draft of the bill.

In essence I wanted this legislation to be given every chance to be knocked into the kind of shape which would allow me to vote for it at the final stage.

Assisted Dying is a contentious topic for some.

While I respect the right of anyone to hold an opinion contrary to mine, I believe that in a civilised society people with a terminal diagnosis and facing an unpleasant end to their lives should be able to take control of the situation.

As a lawmaker though I have a responsibility to try and ensure that any legislation passed by the parliament is workable, affordable and as free of unintended consequences as possible.

And with several weeks to go until the final amending stage and what will be a free vote (no party is whipping its members) I am still undecided.

To be absolutely clear I won’t be swayed in that by those who want to impose their perspective around the principle of Assisted Dying.

I believe firmly that no one has the right to insist another human being should endure a painful end simply because they don’t consider it appropriate that an alternative is available, one which complements palliative care.

But I do need to conclude that on balance the proposals MSPs must ultimately decided upon, in so far as it is reasonably possible to achieve this, take account of legitimate concerns around matters such as the risk of coercion.

As interest in the looming vote has increased I have been struck by the argument from some quarters that this is too big and important a decision for politicians to take. That there ought to be a public referendum.

I have some sympathy for that view.

The fact remains however, that even if we were to have had the wider population be the final arbitrators it would still have been necessary to ensure that the proposals to be voted on were workable, affordable and amongst other things minimised the risk of possible coercion.

As I say, when it comes to voting this is going to be the most difficult decision I have faced as an MSP.

Graeme Dey has been the SNP MSP for Angus South since his election in 2011. He has previously served as Minister for Transport and Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans. He is currently Minister for Parliamentary Business in the Scottish Parliament.