Picture credit: Pukaar News
The question of assisted dying has been the subject of renewed debate in Scotland recently, stirring deep emotions across the country and beyond. It is an issue that goes to the heart of how we see compassion, dignity, and the value of life itself.
Through my work and lifelong experience supporting people through death and bereavement — and as someone involved with the National Burial Council — this subject is never far from my thoughts. It is a matter my colleagues and I reflect on often, especially as we consider how best to ensure that every person is treated with care and respect at the end of life.
After more than three decades witnessing the realities of dying and loss, I would never claim to fully understand the depth of another person’s pain. Each journey is personal and unique. My perspective is rooted not in theory or judgement, but in lived experience — sitting beside the dying, comforting their loved ones, and seeing how much compassionate care can shape those final days.
When I reflect on the choices being discussed, what I feel most strongly is relief — not because I dismiss the suffering of others, but because I believe that true compassion means making it easier to live well, even at life’s end. Too often, people who are ill or frail speak of feeling like a burden. That quiet pressure can weigh heavily, even when no one intends it. As Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement, said, *“How people die remains in the memory of those who live on.”
I believe that our greatest responsibility as a society is not to hasten death, but to ensure that no one faces it alone, afraid, or in unnecessary pain. Until we make world-class palliative and end-of-life care available to all — wherever they live, whatever their circumstances — we have more work to do.
My own faith reinforces this conviction. It teaches me that life, from its first breath to its last, carries sacred worth. This belief, shared across many faiths and within our diverse communities, compels us to care for those who are most vulnerable, treating every life with dignity and love, especially in its final chapter.
To those who see assisted dying as a compassionate choice, I offer deep respect and understanding. But I also believe there is a harder, deeper compassion — one that demands we fix what is broken in our care system, that we strengthen the safety nets of love and support so no one feels abandoned or without hope.
The debate may have ended for now, but the conversation must continue. For those of us in the National Burial Council and across the care and faith communities, these questions remain at the forefront of our minds. Our task is clear: to build a society where every person is valued, supported, and able to live with comfort and dignity to the very end.
That is what true compassion looks like.
Disclaimer: This is an opinion piece written by community leader Suleman Nagdi. The views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Pukaar News.
