Holyrood

The bill Patrick Harvie inherited from Margo MacDonald was rejected in May 2015, but Orkney MSP Liam McArthur lodged a new “proposal for a Member’s Bill to enable competent adults who are terminally ill to be provided at their request with assistance to end their life” – assisted suicide for terminally ill adults without a specified life expectancy – on 22 September 2021.

A public consultation closed on 22 December 2021, with a report summarising the vast response published on 8 September 2022 and the bill was published in March 2024 followed by a Health Committee call for evidence, responses to which exposed widespread concerns.

Stage 1 debate will follow oral evidence sessions. Care Not Killing has supported experts in briefing MSPs at several dedicated sessions.

Visit our dedicated Scottish campaign website, carenotkilling.scot, for resources to use in contacting your MSPs to make clear your opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia, and to ask their views on the subject.

PAST ARTICLES

Opponents of assisted suicide have expressed concerns that MSPs on the Holyrood committee which will scrutinise a new Bill have already signed up to support the legislation.
‘Criticism has come from a broad cross-section of society ranging from the medical community and health care professionals to disability and human rights groups and numerous faith groups.’
Press release: “Put simply, it’s impossible to have a safe system of medicalised killing and MSPs should reject” assisted suicide proposals.
Press release: medical experts campaigning against Liam McArthur's Holyrood bill express their concerns ahead of a meeting between Dr James Downar and MSPs.
Assisted suicide: campaigners against bill welcome hardening opposition from first minister
Care Not Killing responds in the media as Liam McArthur prepares to publish his assisted suicide bill “in the near future”