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Assisted suicide plans in Scotland “regressive and dangerous” campaigners warn

Campaigners have warned that proposals to allow assisted suicide in Scotland will open the door to a Canada-style system in which people will be permitted to end their lives for mental health concerns, branding the proposals “regressive and dangerous.”

While MSPs in Holyrood consider a proposal to make assisted suicide legal, opponents of the legislation have pointed to Canada arguing that a change in law will open the way to more extreme legislation in future. While Canada introduced assisted suicide in 2016 under certain conditions, the requirement that death be “reasonably forseeable” has been removed and from 2023, assisted suicide and euthanasia on the basis of mental health alone will be permitted.

Spokesperson for the Better Way campaign, Dr Miro Griffiths, said: “The development of Canada’s euthanasia framework since it was introduced should trouble every politician in the UK who is being asked to back legal assisted suicide.”

“Canada shows that laws of this kind are inherently unsafe and unpredictable.”

“In Canada and other European jurisdictions, safeguards have failed and been dispensed with over time as activists push for wider access to legislation. This cannot ultimately be denied by parliaments and courts because doing so is felt to be exclusionary.”

“Cases of coercion and abuse, and worsening discrimination against marginalised groups are also part of the global picture. People feel forced to opt for assisted death because of poverty, homelessness, or a lack of care. These laws offer only an illusion of choice.”

“Regressive and dangerous”

“The evidence heard in previous debates about assisted suicide makes it clear that legalising this practice in Scotland would jeopardise the safety, dignity, and equality of many Scots. It remains a regressive and dangerous plan,” Dr Griffiths added.

MSPs in Holyrood have twice voted against making assisted suicide legal in Scotland, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, also twice voting against the proposal. She now claims to be “more open” to a change in the law.

The assisted suicide legislation in Scotland is being proposed by Liam McArthur MSP. Under the plans, a mentally competent adult who is thought to have no chance of recovery from an illness which will result in death could be prescribed lethal drugs on the NHS. Those opting for assisted suicide would have a “period of reflection” before ending their lives.

One in five cite loneliness as a reason to want to die

In 2021, 10,064 people ended their lives by assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada, an increase of over 32% from the previous year, accounting for 3.3% of all deaths in Canada.

According to the latest report on Medical Assistance in Dying from Health Canada, 17.3% of people also cited “isolation or loneliness” as a reason for wanting to die. In 35.7% of cases, patients believed that they were a “burden on family, friends or caregivers”.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said: “Campaigners are right to be concerned about where this kind of legislation leads and the Canadian example should serve as a warning sign.”

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Dear reader,

Despite the Leadbeater assisted-suicide Bill passing its Third Reading on 20 June, it scraped through by just 23 votes (314-291) after enjoying a 55-vote majority at Second Reading. Had 12 more MPs switched sides, the Bill would be dead. It now limps into the Lords with a wafer-thin majority, where peers can amend, delay or reject it outright.

THE CHALLENGE

Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide and will fight hard to stop the Lords overturning the Bill.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion-up-to-birth amendment, passed by MPs in June, also heads to the Lords. If it becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – and at any point up to and during birth.

We will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes), who are expected to push for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws in the Lords.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Thousands of vulnerable lives are now at stake. Battling these two threats is the biggest and most expensive effort in our history, and has drained our limited resources. To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £200,000 by midnight this Sunday (13 July 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from these major threats?

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APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.