Results of a Scottish Parliament consultation on Liam McArthur’s assisted suicide Bill show that fewer than 50% of respondents to the consultation fully supported the Bill.
Despite a large campaign from assisted suicide groups to introduce assisted suicide in Scotland and mobilise the public to respond to the consultation, the results indicate that there is not overwhelming support for Liam McArthur’s assisted suicide Bill from the general public. Instead, the results indicate that the public is deeply divided on the issue.
Earlier this year, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee issued two calls for views, which were open to submissions: a short call for views allowed respondents to express general opinions about the Bill as a whole and a detailed call for views allowed respondents to comment on specific aspects of the Bill.
Each ‘call for views’ permitted respondents to say whether they fully or partially, supported or opposed the proposed legislation, or say whether they were neutral or did not know.
The report on the responses shows that of the 21,056 responses to the consultation, only 10,380 (49.30%) fully supported the Bill and 10,120 (48.06%) strongly opposed the Bill, with an additional 556 (2.64%) who either partially opposed, partially supported or were neutral on the Bill.
From among members of the public who have engaged with the key arguments for and against the Bill and made a detailed submission to the Bill, the overwhelming majority (92.21%) strongly opposed the Bill.
Among those factors important to respondents who opposed the assisted suicide Bill in Scotland, responses included “risk of coercion of vulnerable people”, “risk of devaluing lives of vulnerable groups” and “risk of eligibility being broadened and safeguards reduced over time”.
Support for assisted suicide in Scotland declining
Support for assisted suicide in Scotland has significantly declined in recent years according to an analysis of the data released earlier this year.
Polling commissioned by the pro-assisted suicide lobby group, Dignity in Dying, showed that strong support for “assisted dying” in Scotland decreased from 55% in 2019, to 45% in 2023, and 40% in 2024, according to an article by Professor David Albert Jones, Director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
Similarly, a YouGov bimonthly tracker asked this same question 31 times from August 2019 to April 2024: “Do you think the law should or should not be changed to allow someone to assist in the suicide of someone suffering from a painful, incurable but NOT terminal illness?”. Over this time period, support for a change in the law decreased from 56% to 41%.
Professor Jones explains that overall support for assisted suicide in YouGov polling is significantly lower than overall support in Dignity in Dying polling “in part because of the reference to ‘assisted suicide’ rather than ‘assisted dying’”.
“There is evidence that many people are confused about what is included in ‘assisted dying’. A survey conducted in 2021 found that most people thought that this meant either ‘giving people who are dying the right to stop life-prolonging treatment’ (42%) or ‘providing hospice-type care to people who are dying’ (10%)”.
By comparing two separate YouGov trackers, one of which asks about support for assisted suicide in cases in which a person is terminally ill, and the other that asks about cases in which a person is not terminally ill, Professor Jones also found that support for assisted suicide in Scotland was 71% and 41% respectively.
Dignity in Dying polling also asked whether they wished their MPs to vote in favour of a change in the law on this issue. Only 47% of respondents in Scotland wanted their MPs to vote to change the law. Among Asian respondents, this fell to 26% and among black respondents, this was as low as 16%. Only 15% of Scots thought the law would actually change in the next Parliament.
A 2023 public attitudes survey in Scotland did not find assisted suicide among people’s priorities.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Despite a massive campaign from assisted suicide groups to introduce assisted suicide to Scotland and mobilise the public to respond to the consultation, the results of this consultation indicate there is not overwhelming support for Liam McArthur’s assisted suicide Bill from the general public. Instead, the responses indicate the public is deeply divided on the issue”.
“The lack of support for this radical assisted suicide Bill among respondents to the consultation comes after an analysis by Professor David Albert Jones showed that support for assisted suicide in Scotland has significantly declined in recent years. Perhaps part of the reason for this decline in support comes from increased awareness about assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada where the law has rapidly expanded, and where there has been increased support for euthanasia for poverty and homelessness”.
“As in other jurisdictions, people in Scotland at the end of their lives need assistance to live, not to die”.
