In the final vote, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) have rejected a bill that would have legalized assisted suicide – a dramatic turn of events that Scotland’s Catholic bishops are blaming on the power of prayer.
Responding immediately after the result was announced on 17 March, the Bishops of Scotland told EWTN News: “Prayer is what moved hearts on this important issue. We are very happy. Glory be to God that life has triumphed tonight!”
Bill sponsor Liam MacArthur and his supporters were confident of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill becoming law. In the first vote in May 2025, Parliament voted 70 to 56 in favor of advancing the bill to Phase 2. The bill was amended at Stage 2 before moving to Stage 3 for a decisive vote. However, in the end, MSPs rejected the bill by voting 69 to 57 against it.
Bishop John Keenan, president of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference, said a vote against the assisted suicide bill would “put some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people at risk of being pressured into premature death.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland
After an emotional debate, 12 MSPs changed their stance and went from supporting the Bill at Stage 1 to opposing it. Notable MSPs who switched sides included Jamie Hepburn (Scottish National Party), Daniel Johnson (Labour), and Brian Whittle (Conservative), who publicly announced their decisions during the debate.
This was followed by other notable announcements in preparation for the vote by Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay and Scottish National Party MSPs Audrey Nicholl and Colette Stevenson, who initially supported the bill and then shared their decisions to vote against it.
Praising MSPs for voting against the legislation, Bishop John Keenan, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said after the vote: “I want to express my gratitude to all MSPs for their serious engagement with this issue and for the thoughtful and considered attention they have given to the bill. I am particularly grateful to those who upheld the principle of human dignity and advocated on behalf of vulnerable people.”
The Catholic Church teaches that assisted suicide is inherently immoral. Before the final vote, Keenan commented that a vote against the bill would “save some of Scotland’s most vulnerable individuals from the risk of being pressured to premature death.”
“Every human life has inherent value,” he said. “True compassion is not expressed through ending a life, but by visiting with those who are suffering and ensuring that they receive medical, emotional and spiritual support that recognizes their dignity.”
Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, chief executive of the pro-life charity Right to Life UK, called the result “a great and deeply important victory for Scotland’s most vulnerable people”. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Right to Life UK
Pro-life groups opposing the bill also highlighted the importance of voting for vulnerable people. In a message to EWTN News, Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, chief executive of the pro-life charity Right to Life UK, called the result “a great and deeply important victory for Scotland’s most vulnerable people”.
Hungerford-Morgan told EWTN News: “People who are near the end of their lives, whatever their situation, need love and support, not a path to suicide, which is exactly what the Scottish Assisted Suicide Bill would have done.”
The vote was followed by intense and lengthy debate over five sessions, culminating in a final debate and vote on 17 March.
Hungerford-Morgan said: “Had this bill been passed in the Scottish Parliament and become law, it would have triggered an irreversible change that would put vulnerable people at risk and lead to the loss of thousands of lives through assisted suicide in Scotland.”
He added: “After two years of debate, and the most thorough investigation ever into the question of assisted suicide in Scotland, Holyrood, widely regarded as one of the world’s most socially and politically progressive legislatures, has come to the conclusion that it is unsafe and dangerous to introduce assisted suicide.”
Paul Atkin, pro-life officer for the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, highlighted “the strength of engagement across our archdiocese” due to the fact that, of the 12 MSPs who changed their votes to oppose the bill, eight represent constituencies within the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
Atkin told EWTN News: “The defeat of this bill is a welcome result, reflecting the strength of engagement across our Archdiocese. From the Archbishop’s leadership to the parishes organizing hundreds of letters, it was a joint effort that made a difference.”
Praising the archdiocese’s “remarkable contribution”, Atkin paid tribute to the “polite, persistent engagement of the Catholic community” which “helped shape the outcomes and protect the most vulnerable.”
Opponents of the bill now called for a shift in focus from assisted suicide to investment in palliative care. “Our next priority must be to strengthen palliative care to ensure it is appropriately funded and accessible to all who need it,” Keenan said.
Echoing this view, Hungerford-Morgan urged MSPs to “unite to focus new efforts to promote and improve palliative care”.
Following the bill’s defeat, Hungerford-Morgan turned her attention to a separate bill currently being debated in the House of Lords in London that would legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales, introduced by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater.
Calling on the sponsors of the Leadbeater Bill to “reject assisted suicide”, he said: “This victory will have an impact far beyond Holyrood as the Leadbeater Bill continues to be debated in the House of Lords. Instead of pushing through this dangerous bill, its sponsors should follow Scotland’s example and reject assisted suicide.”
