The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Scotland has spoken.

MSPs have voted 69 to 57 against the Assisted Dying Bill, following months of debate and careful consideration.

This decision reflects real concern for protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring that compassion is rooted in care, dignity, and support, never in ending life.

As highlighted in this report from The Tablet, the focus must now turn to strengthening palliative care and making sure it is properly funded and accessible to all who need it.

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The Catholic Bishops of Scotland told MSPs they had “taken the correct and responsible course of action” after they voted against Assisted Dying by a majority

Gospel
John 5:17-30
‘For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.’

At that time: Jesus answered the Jews, ‘My Father is working even now, and I am working.’ This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son, that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.
‘Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.
‘I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.’

𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

MSPs can be confident that they have taken the correct and responsible course of action. Their vote serves to protect some of Scotland’s most vulnerable individuals from the risk of being pressured into a premature death.

Every human life possesses inherent value. Genuine compassion is not expressed through ending a life, but through accompanying those who suffer and ensuring they receive the medical, emotional, and spiritual support that recognises their dignity. No life is without worth.

As a society, our responsibility is not to address suffering by eliminating the sufferer, but to surround each person with care, respect, and dignity until their natural end. Today’s decision moves Scotland further in that direction, and MSPs should be commended for this.

However, we must continue to make progress. Our next priority must be to strengthen palliative care by ensuring that it is properly funded and accessible to all who require it.

I would like to express my gratitude to all MSPs for their serious engagement with this issue and for the thoughtful and considered attention they have given to the bill. I am especially grateful to those who upheld the principle of human dignity and advocated on behalf of the vulnerable. Your principled commitment has not gone unnoticed.

Bishop John Keenan
President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

Lenten Devotions | Stations of the Cross | 17 March 2026
This music is licensed under one license number: A-623356

As MSPs prepare to vote, there are serious concerns that cannot be ignored.

Questions around coercion, trust between patients and doctors, and the removal of conscientious objection go to the heart of this Bill.

These are not minor details. They are fundamental issues that affect the safety, dignity and protection of the most vulnerable in our society.

MSPs now face a decision with real and lasting consequences.

Contact your MSP today and urge them to reject the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

The more we know, the more we say no.