Meeting of the Parliament 13 March 2026 [Draft]
Before I talk about amendment 247, I draw members’ attention, if they are not already aware of this, to the fact that the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland has just informed us in the past few moments that it has moved from a position of neutrality on the bill to a position of opposition. I hope that members will reflect on that when they reach a view on how they will vote on the bill in its entirety.
Amendment 247, which is in my name, would introduce a new subsection in section 21A that would create a mandatory requirement for all public-facing communications about assisted dying to include suicide prevention information. Its purpose is to ensure that vulnerable individuals, including those experiencing distress or suicidal thoughts, are provided with clear guidance and access to appropriate crisis support services.
Language is important in this debate. The bill that is before us is called the assisted dying bill, but we know that that language confuses people, because there are people who believe that the term “assisted dying” covers palliative care, the administration of pain relief and anyone’s life in a hospice. In reality, the bill is about assisting suicide. That is the legal reality. It has never been the case in Scots law that assisting someone to end their life has been legal, so the bill will represent a fundamental change in our law. On the two previous occasions when the Parliament has debated similar bills, those bills have been described as assisted suicide bills. There has been a deliberate change to sanitise the debate that we are having.
The change reflects another sanitisation. When the well-funded lobby group Dignity in Dying, which is promoting the bill, was formed many years ago, it was called the Euthanasia Society. In the 1970s, it rebranded itself as the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. Two decades ago, it rebranded itself again as Dignity in Dying. However, no one should be in any doubt as to the origins of the campaign group and its true agenda.
Suicide is a difficult subject for anyone to discuss. I know that those who support the bill do not wish to conflate what the bill seeks to do with suicide, but that is unavoidable for the reasons that I have outlined. Suicide is a terrible social curse.