Scotland:

Oppose the assisted suicide bill

Let's keep Scotland safe for the people we love.

MSP Liam McArthur (Scottish Liberal Democrat, Orkney) has lodged proposals for an Assisted Dying Scotland Members Bill. It is expected to begin its passage through Holyrood in March 2024.

No one wants people to suffer at the end of life.

But the reality of assisted suicide is very different from the image depicted by its supporters.

In countries that have legalised so-called assisted dying, safeguards are swiftly eroded, and the most vulnerable are put at risk. In recent months, reports have emerged of marginalised Canadians seeking an 'assisted death' due to poverty, disability and homelessness.

With living costs soaring, Scotland cannot afford a regime that leads people to choose death out of fear of poverty or homelessness.

What can I do?

Here are 3 actions you can take to oppose this bill and keep Scotland safe for the people we love:

Inform yourself

Mr. McArthur has not yet published the text of the bill. We will provide a full briefing on his specific proposals as soon as it is available. In the meantime, you can download our briefing "The Case Against Assisted Suicide: questions people ask".

Write to your MSPs

You can use our tool below to send a message to your MSPs telling them why you do not want assisted suicide to be legalised.

Spread the word

Order copies of our new door-to-door leaflet to spread the word in your community and educate the public about the dangers of assisted suicide.

Write to your MSPs

Enter your postcode below. This will bring up who your MSPs are, together with an editable email template.
Edit the email template to explain in your own words why you do not want assisted suicide to be legalised. Please include any personal stories you have, or mention why you or a family member would be under threat if the Assisted Dying Scotland Bill was passed. We have also given you some key points against assisted suicide in the email (which you can delete).
Press Submit. Your email will be automatically sent to all eight of your MSPs.

Enter your post code below to find your MSPs

My MSPs
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Dear [MSP Name],
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In light of Liam McArthur MSP’s proposed Assisted Dying Scotland Bill, I am writing to you to express how concerned I am about the prospect of assisted suicide being legalised in Scotland. I know that advocates of “assisted dying” want to make sure that people do not suffer pain at the end of life. However, assisted suicide is not a solution to pain. Good palliative care should ensure that pain is controlled well. I’ve also been shocked at recent media reports of people suffering horrible deaths due to adverse effects of experimental drugs used for assisted suicide in other countries. I’ve also been horrified by the stories emerging from Canada of marginalised people seeking an ‘assisted death’ due to poverty, disability and homelessness (you can see some of these stories here: <a href="https://www.livesworthliving.scot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-safelink="true" data-linkindex="0">https://www.livesworthliving.scot/</a>). With living costs soaring, Scotland cannot afford a regime that leads people to choose death out of fear of poverty or homelessness. Assisted suicide puts pressure on vulnerable people. Where assisted suicide is legal, one reason people choose to die is because they feel they are a burden on others. I was very sad to hear that a recent report from Age Scotland found that more than a third of older people in Scotland feel that they are a burden to society, while 34% felt life was getting worse for older people. In such an atmosphere, older people are vulnerable to perceived pressure to end their lives prematurely. People with disabilities particularly fear a change in the law which could make them feel pressured to end their lives. For all these reasons, I believe that assisted suicide should never be legalised in Scotland. I urge you to vote against this and any other Bill, and to speak up for the vulnerable in Holyrood.
Yours sincerely,

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word

Order copies of our new door-to-door leaflet to spread the word in your community and educate the public about the dangers of assisted suicide.

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