Kirby Ruth is a full-service sex worker who has operated independently in the UK for several years, touring nationally and working as a self-employed sole trader. She entered the industry as a student and has since built a client base across multiple cities, managing her own advertising, client screening, and scheduling. Kirby speaks publicly about the distinction between consensual sex work and exploitation, and argues against legislative approaches she believes would drive the industry underground.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Introduction and how Ross and Kirby met
• 00:04 — Why Kirby agreed to speak publicly
• 00:05 — Media representation and stigma
• 00:06 — Entry into the industry
• 00:12 — Misconceptions about clients and consent
• 00:17 — Safety: screening and client databases
• 00:20 — Sexual health and PrEP
• 00:25 — Client demographics and the emotional side of the work
• 00:34 — Male loneliness, incels, and disabled clients
• 00:41 — Autonomy and self-employment
• 00:43 — The policy debate: Nordic Model, decriminalisation, and legalisation
• 00:47 — Why criminalising buyers endangers workers
• 00:56 — Exploitation vs consensual sex work
• 01:05 — OnlyFans and the digital industry
• 01:14 — Writing a book

Kirby" Instagram: Profile: https://www.instagram.com/kickasskirby/

Dr. Gordon MacDonald is the Chief Executive of Care Not Killing, a UK campaign organisation opposed to the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The organisation was founded in 2006 as a coalition of disability groups, hospices, and palliative care professionals in response to bills brought before Westminster, and has since campaigned against similar legislation at Holyrood, including the End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill in 2010 and the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill in 2015. Before taking on his current role, MacDonald worked with CARE and served as an advocate for UNICEF in Scotland.00:00 — Introduction to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and Care Not Killing. Gordon holds a PhD in Economics.

• 02:13 — Gordon's background and path to becoming Chief Executive of Care Not Killing
• 04:47 — History of the euthanasia debate in the UK, from the 1930s to the early 2000s
• 07:20 — Previous assisted dying bills in the Scottish Parliament: 2010 and 2015
• 09:07 — Definitions: assisted dying, assisted suicide, and euthanasia
• 11:27 — The Netherlands: expansion of euthanasia practice beyond original legal limits
• 13:40 — Rising death tolls in Canada and Oregon and the normalisation of assisted dying
• 20:17 — Contents and ambiguities of Liam McArthur's bill
• 22:27 — What happens when assisted suicide drugs fail to cause death
• 25:29 — Comparing scale: Oregon's assisted suicide figures versus Canada's euthanasia numbers
• 27:34 — Financial costs, the Scottish Government's response, and the flawed financial memorandum
• 30:22 — Impact on palliative care funding and hospice staffing
• 35:36 — The case against legalisation across Western jurisdictions
• 38:16 — Autonomy, human rights, and the limits of individual choice
• 43:57 — Agents of the state and the right to life under the ECHR
• 50:13 — Socioeconomic disparities in who accesses assisted dying in Canada and Oregon
• 53:27 — What happens after the 17 March Stage 3 vote
• 57:14 — Gordon's personal experience of his parents' deaths and the difference palliative care made
• 1:02:53 — Audience questions: the veterinary argument, public opinion polling, and the role of MSPs

Stay in touch - https://thepattersonpost.beehiiv.com/

Ash Regan is a Member of the Scottish Parliament, currently sitting as an independent having previously been a member of the SNP. Her Unbuyable Bill, which sought to criminalise the buying of sex while decriminalising the selling of it, reached Stage One of the Scottish Parliament before being voted down. We discussed why she feels prostitution laws in Scotland need to change.

Timestamps

Timestamps

00:00 — Introduction

00:58 — What the Unbuyable Bill proposes

05:13 — The SNP votes the bill down at Stage One

08:52 — How current Scottish law on prostitution works

10:44 — What the bill would criminalise and decriminalise

15:02 — The Nordic model — how it works and the evidence behind it

16:00 — Germany and Sweden as contrasting case studies

18:38 — The consent debate

19:32 — Who is in prostitution — statistics on trafficking, abuse, and coercion

24:09 — Grooming victims and trafficking victims

27:24 — The Epstein files and exploitation across society

29:38 — Scottish Government inaction and prospects for future legislation

32:36 — The “driving underground” argument

36:26 — Ash’s plans to stand as an independent at the next election

Relevant Links

Ash Regan — Scottish Parliament profile:

https://www.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps/ash-regan

Ash Regan on X (Twitter):

https://x.com/AshRegansNow

The Unbuyable Bill

https://unbuyable.org/