The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Scotland's Catholic bishops and pro-life groups have raised alarms about the effects a proposed assisted suicide bill may have upon disabled and vulnerable people after a number of key amendments were rejected. / Credit: Reinhold Möller, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Edinburgh, Scotland, Nov 11, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Scotland's Catholic bishops and pro-life groups have raised alarms about the effects a proposed assisted suicide bill may have upon disabled and vulnerable people after a number of key amendments were rejected.
Assisted suicide is currently illegal in Scotland, but if Liam McArthur's Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill becomes law, terminally ill adults will be given assistance to end their own lives.
After the committee considering the bill on Nov. 4 rejected several amendments to make the bill safer, the president of the Scottish bishops' conference, Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, told CNA: "Almost [all of the] vulnerable groups in Scotland representing the disabled, elderly, and mentally ill are against the [bill] and continue to point out how it puts them at greater risk."
One of the rejected amendments would have restricted eligibility to those with six months or less to live. Another proposal would have required people who are seeking an assisted death to be provided with a fully funded palliative care support plan. Both amendments were rejected, raising fears that the most vulnerable will suffer and those with nonterminal conditions will be able to access assisted suicide.
Expressing concerns about the bill, Keenan said: "It will also not exclude a person whose primary motivation for their request is among [the] following nonterminal conditions: eating disorders; intellectual disabilities, including but not limited to [Down] syndrome; mood disorders, including but not limited to depression; anxiety disorders; the receipt of any disability or sickness-related benefits, including but not limited to Adult Disability Payment, or any equivalent welfare payment; loneliness or social isolation; financial hardship or low income; feelings of being a burden to others; poor or unsuitable housing conditions; any other mental health condition or developmental disorder that is not a terminal illness."
The Catholic Church teaches that assisted suicide is inherently immoral.
"Life is a gift to be protected, especially when threatened by sickness and death," the Catholic bishops of England, Wales, and Scotland have said. "Palliative care, with expert pain relief and good human, spiritual, and pastoral support, is the right and best way to care for people towards the end of life."
The definition of terminal illness in McArthur's bill has been viewed as problematic, with the bill stating that it can be applied to people who have an "advanced and progressive disease, illness, or condition from which they are unable to recover and that can reasonably be expected to cause their premature death."
Paul Atkin, pro-life officer at the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, highlighted this danger, telling CNA: "The bill's definition of 'terminal illness' is so vague that it could include people with conditions such as dementia or heart failure, who may live for years. The boundaries keep moving, and what starts as a choice for a few becomes an assumption for many."
Atkin continued: "We should be honest: This law would put some lives at risk — not from disease, but from despair. True compassion means standing beside those who suffer, not offering to end their lives. Scotland can do better than that."
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Jeremy Balfour made a proposal to exclude individuals with nonterminal conditions from accessing assisted suicide. These conditions include intellectual disabilities, eating disorders, and feelings of being a burden. Again, this was rejected.
Speaking to CNA, Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, described the assisted suicide bill in Scotland as "a clear danger to people with disabilities."
"Many disabilities can quickly become 'terminal' if not managed properly. This remains the case whether done intentionally for people with disabilities who are actively seeking to end their own lives or through lack of access to medical assistance," Robinson said.
"People with disabilities recognize the risk the McArthur's bill poses to them, which is why major disability groups in Scotland, such as Inclusion Scotland, Glasgow Disability Alliance, and Disability Equality Scotland, do not support this bill."
MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy, who is the first permanent wheelchair user in the Scottish Parliament, shared her own concerns about the rejected amendments upon disabled people.
"The committee rejected placing timescales on prognosis. This means anyone with an illness that could result in their premature death is eligible. That's me and thousands of disabled people and people with conditions like diabetes across Scotland. I don't believe that is what Parliament intends. This is dangerous for disabled people and I will fight it all the way," Duncan-Glancy said.
McArthur's bill is separate from the bill currently progressing through Parliament in London, which proposes the legalization of assisted suicide in England and Wales.
Catholics in Scotland are asked to urge their local MSP to vote against the bill when it comes to the final debate at Stage 3.
