Meeting of the Parliament 13 March 2026 [Draft]
I gently say to Clare Haughey that the legal reality is that the bill would allow, for the first time in our history, individuals to help another individual to commit suicide.
Let me explain my thinking on the subject. Every suicide is a tragedy. It is an enormous tragedy for the life lost, and it is a huge tragedy for those left behind, who often wonder what more they might have done to prevent the tragic loss of life.
Suicide is the biggest cause of death among young men in Scotland today. It is a huge societal problem. I know that the Government does a lot of work on suicide prevention, but, in my view, we should be doing more—we should be doing everything that we can to prevent suicide.
I talk from personal experience. Many years ago, when I was a much younger man, I lost a dear and close friend to suicide, in circumstances that I find extremely painful to talk about even now. There was no advance warning. We were not aware of any suicidal intent. There was no history of depression or mental illness. There was no indication that that would happen. It came completely out of the blue and was utterly shocking.
I saw the impact that that young man’s suicide had on his family and friends, who were all utterly devastated. That horror remained with them for the rest of their lives. The young man’s mother died just a few years ago, and I had kept in very close contact with her. The horrendous and devastating impact of the young man’s death on her still haunts me.
We must do everything that we can to avoid the prospect of suicide having an impact on anyone’s life. If the bill is passed, I do not want there to be any hint, suggestion or muddling of the messages in relation to suicide prevention, because we would be legislating for suicide in particular circumstances. Amendment 247 would make it clear that we must do more to promote suicide prevention and provide support for those in crisis.
I am reminded of the years and years that it took for campaigners to secure safeguarding warnings attached to advertising on gambling and smoking products, for example. Let us get the bill right at the outset. If assisted dying is going to be advertised, patient information must be available, if it is requested. In my view, that should include signposting to suicide prevention organisations and charities. People must know that there is somewhere else that they can turn to and that all options are open to them if they request assisted dying.
I want the bill to contain every possible safeguard. It must be clear about who, where, why and how. It must include details on everything; it must not leave the details to regulations. As MSPs, we must be confident that we have done everything possible to make the bill as safe as possible.