An Inverness man with a crippling illness has imposed a “death row” sentence upon himself by deciding to end his life at a Swiss clinic in a matter of weeks.
Colin Campbell lives with a rare form of the degenerative disease multiple sclerosis (MS) which has left him barely able to leave his city centre home.
A bout of illness last winter made him consider his future – and he has now decided that he will end his own life while he is still physically able to.
The 56-year-old travelled to Switzerland recently to meet doctors and was given the date of Thursday, June 15, for his appointment at the Lifecircle Clinic in Basel.
Mr Campbell has primary progressive MS, which means symptoms steadily worsen over time without any periods in remission.
He was diagnosed in 1995 – at that time a bombshell to a fit man in his early 30s who played football and tennis and was a regular runner.
Now he struggles to leave his first floor flat because of the effects of his condition, passing the time by playing guitar as his hands have so far not been affected.
He was told his appointment date at the weekend and has booked his flights to Switzerland.
The former IT consultant is now facing his final seven weeks of life before his last trip.
He said: “It’s a bit like what they call death row, waiting like the condemned man.”
He added: “It will be like spending seven weeks in the condemned man’s cell.
“This (his home) is like a cell for me now. I can just about get down the stairs with difficulty and that’s it, I can’t go out at all.
“I am the condemned man – but it’s my own choosing. That’s the earliest date the doctors could give me.”
He will self-administer the life-ending medication by starting an infusion process himself, which will quickly cause him to slip into unconsciousness before he dies.
Mr Campbell is unmarried and does not have any children – and considers himself “lucky” because he will not have to put his loved ones through the ordeal.
He said: “I think getting married is a wonderful thing and I think being a parent is a wonderful thing.
“But not if your life goes badly wrong.
“I am lucky that I don’t have to ask my wife or my children to accompany me because it would be very depressing.”
Instead, his death will be filmed by a British film crew from an independent production company who will act as witnesses.
Mr Campbell, who is Inverness born and bred, would of preferred to have been able to end his life in Scotland.
He said he was “totally shocked and angered” by the Scottish Parliament’s 2015 vote against assisted suicide.
He had long considered this may be the way he wanted to end his life – but had chosen to postpone until it was legalised in Scotland.
But he decided he had to take things into his own hands earlier this year after two spells in hospital with winter illnesses after collapsing at home.
His MS means his immune system is severely weakened and minor ailments can lead to serious health problems.
He said: “That’s what finally made me decide.
“I just realised that I couldn’t do another winter, no way.
“As soon as winter was over I would start the process because I know physically I couldn’t survive another winter.”
Mr Campbell believes that a misunderstanding of the process leads to misconceptions about assisted suicide.
He said: “It’s strange that people have all these silly ideas about it.
“The doctor is not killing anyone, the doctor is not setting the process.
“The patient has chosen, it’s voluntary.
“When I attend, assuming I can physically get there, I will voluntarily get the flow going.”
The 2015 vote in the Scottish Parliament saw a bill which would have allowed people with terminal illnesses to seek the help of a doctor to end their own lives defeated 82 votes to 36.
MSPs were allowed to vote freely rather than on party lines, though the Scottish Government did not support changing the law.
Last night a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government respects the will of the Scottish Parliament on assisted suicide, and is committed to ensuring that everyone has dignity and respect at the end of their life.”
A campaign group calling for the legalisation of assisted death in Scotland said Mr Campbell’s situation was “unacceptable”.
Dignity in Dying Scotland said every eight days someone from Britain travels to Swizerland – while a further 300 terminally ill end their own lives at home.
Ally Thomson, director for Dignity in Dying Scotland, said: “It is a tragic and unacceptable reality that seriously ill people like Colin Campbell feel they have no other choice but to spend their final days travelling hundreds of miles to Switzerland in order to have the dignified death they desire.
Ms Thomson said the current law is “broken and needs to change”.
She said: “The majority of people believe we should have more choice and control at end of life and that terminally-ill people should be able to control and manage their final weeks and months of life humanely and with dignity.
“This means being able to die at home in the country in which you have lived.
“We are calling for the Scottish Parliament to address this issue by introducing compassionate assisted dying legislation.”
