MSP rules out reintroducing assisted dying bill after election

The MSP behind the rejected assisted dying bill has ruled out reintroducing the legislation in the next parliament.

“- Published The MSP behind the rejected assisted dying bill has ruled out reintroducing the legislation in the next parliament”

BBC

Scottish Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur wanted to give dying Scots access to medical help to end their lives - to avoid the suffering of what he describes as "bad deaths".

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On Tuesday night his bill was defeated by 69 votes to 57, following a moving debate where MSPs laid their emotions bare.

The bill would have made the treatment available to terminally ill, mentally competent adults who have been given less than six months to live - but opponents said there were not enough protections against coercion.

McArthur was visibly emotional after the defeat and shared embraces with colleagues as the Holyrood chamber emptied.

What's the public mood on assisted dying?

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill would have made it legal for a medical practitioner or authorised health professional to give an eligible patient a lethal drug to end their own life.

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A bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales is being considered at Westminster, though it appears unlikely to pass before the end of the parliamentary term.

McArthur made several changes to the bill in a bid to win over swithering MSPs.

In the end, most Lib Dem and SNP MSPs supported the bill, with full support from the Greens, but it was defeated by a majority of Labour and Tory opponents, as well as 22 from the SNP - including John Swinney.

McArthur's assisted dying bill was the third to have come before the Scottish Parliament since devolution in 1999, but the first to make it past a stage one vote.

MSPs were granted a free vote on the proposals, meaning they were not whipped to vote along party lines.

Both sides of the debate claim huge public support for their arguments - though the results of recent polls vary.

It was noted at stage three of the debate by Green MSP Ross Greer that answers differ considerably depending on how survey questions are asked.

A poll carried out in 2024 on behalf of the campaign group Dignity in Dying Scotland found that 78% of respondents said that they would support making it lawful for someone to seek assisted dying in Scotland.

However, another poll commissioned this year by campaign group Not Dead Yet UK found that 69% agreed Holyrood should prioritise improving access to care for disabled people before introducing "assisted suicide".

As for the mood across the UK, the National Centre for Social Research charity recently published, external data from the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey on attitudes to assisted dying.

It said the survey, from August 2024, showed "clear support" for the law change "in some circumstances" - with a total of 79% in favour.

Improving access to palliative care has been a common theme in the reaction to the bill's defeat.

“- Published The MSP behind the rejected assisted dying bill has ruled out reintroducing the legislation in the next parliament”

BBC

End-of-life charity Marie Curie has estimated that the need for palliative care in Scotland will rise by almost 20% by 2050, with almost 11,000 more people requiring care each year than in 2025.

The Scottish government has promised to spend £6.5m on hospices next year - but sector representatives have said this is not sustainable.

Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, chief executive of Right To Life UK - which has campaigned against assisted dying and also opposes abortion - said it was vital that MSPs "redouble their efforts to invest in universal access to high-quality palliative care" after May's Holyrood election.

He said: "If this legislation had passed, countless vulnerable people would have been pressured or coerced into ending their lives".

Toby Porter, the chief executive of Hospice UK - which is neutral on assisted dying - said the debate had exposed "deep inequalities" in access to palliative care across Scotland.

He said over 60,000 people die in Scotland each year and the number of people who need palliative care is "rising rapidly" - and argued for long-term sustainable funding for hospices.

Emma Cooper, convener of Friends at the End (FATE) - who are in favour of assisted dying - said the debate had been "plagued by misinformation" and that end-of-life decisions that hasten death already happen in the NHS.

She added: "Scottish people are going to continue to suffer unnecessarily at the end of life."