Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘The final stage of my journey’: Watch terminally ill Perthshire man’s moving plea on day he is due to die

A terminally-ill man has issued a final plea to parliamentarians to legalise assisted dying, on the day he is due to die at a Swiss clinic.

In a video released on Friday, Richard Selley from Perth called on MSPs to support an assisted dying bill to allow other terminally-ill people to have the option to end their lives at home on their own terms.

Richard Selley and his wife Elaine.
Richard Selley, 65.

The 65-year-old retired teacher, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2015, travelled to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich with wife Elaine this week, saying he did not want to suffer any longer.

In his last video, released by Dignity in Dying Scotland, Richard said he was entering the final stage of his journey.

“I hope that members of the Scottish Parliament support an assisted dying bill in the future,” he said.

“I think the momentum for a change in the law is growing.

“It will be too late for me but I hope that sometime soon people in my position will have the choice to have a peaceful death at a time of their choosing.”

Richard also spoke of his reasons for seeking an assisted death overseas and the personal and financial cost he has borne as a result.

“Since my diagnosis with MND four years ago, I have lost the ability to walk, talk and swallow,” he said.

“I have also lost most of the power in my arms.

“Despite these losses I have tried very hard to remain positive and my palliative care has been outstanding.

“However, as I enter the final stage of my journey, I don’t wish to suffer for much longer so I am seeking an assisted death with Dignitas.”

He added: “Despite what some people think, Dignitas do not let people simply fly to Zurich, knock on their door and ask o die.

“I have already had to compose letters, write a life story and obtain medical records that prove that I am terminally ill.

“This has been stressful, particularly as my GP was advised to refuse my request for an up-to-date medical report.”

Richard said having assisted dying available in Switzerland was welcome but it was  costing him around £10,000.

“I am fortunate that I can afford this, but most people cannot,” he said.

“Having to be able to fly means that I am choosing to die earlier than I would prefer.

“If an assisted death was possible in Scotland, I would be able to die at a time of my choosing at home.”

Ally Thomson, director of Dignity in Dying Scotland, said Richard and Elaine had shown “immense bravery and dignity” in sharing their story in their final weeks together and claimed Scotland’s law on assisted dying was outdated and broken.

“The outpouring of support they have received from members of the public and parliamentarians has been overwhelming but not surprising,” he said.