On 1 December 2010, the Scottish Parliament held a Stage One vote on the End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill, introduced by Margo MacDonald MSP. The Bill was rejected by a vote of 85 against, 16 in favour, and there were 2 abstentions.
Clause 1 of the Bill stated that “end of life assistance” included “provision or administration of appropriate means to enable a person to die”. The inclusion of the words “provision or administration of appropriate means” meant that if the Bill had become law, it would have legalised both assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Voting records of MSPs – Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill
The following is a detailed breakdown of how each MSP voted on the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill:
Voted against (85 MSPs)
Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Conservative)
Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Labour)
Alasdair Allan (Western Isles) (SNP)
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Labour)
Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Labour)
Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Labour)
Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Labour)
Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Conservative)
Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Conservative)
Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP)
Robert Brown (Glasgow) (Liberal Democrat)
Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Conservative)
Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Labour)
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Labour)
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)
Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP)
Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Labour)
Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP)
Nigel Don (North East Scotland) (SNP)
Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP)
Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Labour)
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP)
Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP)
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Labour)
Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (Liberal Democrat)
Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP)
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Labour)
Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Labour)
Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Labour)
Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Conservative)
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Labour)
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Labour)
Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Labour)
Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP)
Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP)
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Labour)
Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Labour)
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Labour)
John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Conservative)
Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Labour)
Kenny MacAskill (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Labour)
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Labour)
Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Labour)
Tricia Marwick (Central Fife) (SNP)
Jim Mather (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP)
Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Labour)
Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Conservative)
Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (Liberal Democrat)
Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP)
David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Conservative)
Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Labour)
Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP)
Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Labour)
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Labour)
Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Labour)
Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Conservative)
Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Conservative)
Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Labour)
Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Labour)
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP)
Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP)
Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Labour)
Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Labour)
Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (Liberal Democrat)
Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Liberal Democrat)
Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Alex Salmond (Gordon) (SNP)
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Conservative)
John Scott (Ayr) (Conservative)
Tavish Scott (Shetland) (Liberal Democrat)
Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Labour)
Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (Liberal Democrat)
Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (Liberal Democrat)
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Labour)
Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow Govan) (SNP)
Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP)
David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Labour)
Voted in favour (16 MSPs)
Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green)
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green)
Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP)
Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (Liberal Democrat)
Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP)
Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP)
Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind)
Liam McArthur (Orkney) (Liberal Democrat)
Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP)
Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow) (SNP)
John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Labour)
Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (Liberal Democrat)
Iain Smith (North East Fife) (Liberal Democrat)
Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP)
Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP)