Holyrood Assisted Suicide Bill: Hospices and Care Homes at Risk as MSPs Reject more Safeguards
The Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has voted down a series of proposed amendments aimed at strengthening safeguards in the controversial Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.
The latest session, held on Tuesday, followed last week’s debate where MSPs rejected measures to narrow the definition of terminal illness to those with six months or less to live and to exclude individuals seeking assisted suicide due to intellectual disabilities or eating disorders.
Among the proposals dismissed this week were calls for stronger protections for disabled people, mandatory training standards for practitioners, a more robust conscientious objection clause, and checks to ensure individuals are not choosing death because of poverty or inadequate housing.
Concerns were also raised about the potential impact on hospices and care homes, with fears that facilities unwilling to participate in assisted suicide could face defunding or closure. While a vote on an institutional opt-out for hospices and care homes is expected later, the MSP in charge of the Bill, Liam McArthur, signalled firm opposition, arguing such a move would create “a significant barrier” to accessing assisted suicide.
The failure to include an institutional opt-out on the face of the Bill could have devastating consequences for Catholic hospices and care homes across Scotland, which may lose vital funding or be forced to shut down.
An amendment from Clare Baker to raise the minimum age for assisted suicide from 16 to 25—aligning with Scottish Sentencing Council guidance on brain maturity—was also rejected. Instead, the committee agreed to increase the age threshold to 18.
Further controversy arose when MSPs rejected Miles Briggs’ proposal requiring healthcare professionals to opt in to provide assisted suicide services.
Liam McArthur’s own amendment, obliging doctors who oppose assisted suicide to refer patients to a willing practitioner or provide information on the process—effectively mandating limited participation, was approved by the committee.
During the debate, Sue Webber highlighted evidence from other jurisdictions showing that assisted suicide drugs are not always painless, citing cases of vomiting, choking, fluid in the lungs, and failed deaths. “Even when we’re legislating for death, Parliament still bears responsibility for life,” she said.
Reacting to the committee’s decisions, CPO Director Anthony Horan expressed deep concern: “Instead of beefing up this Bill with safeguards and tightening key provisions, the committee appears to be doing everything in its power to make the Bill unsafe and a significant risk to vulnerable people.
“Liam McArthur’s insistence that there should be no institutional opt-out will be particularly alarming for hospices and care homes that do not wish to participate in assisted suicide. It could mean that, should this law pass, those hospices and care homes will lose vital funding and be forced to close.
“MSPs have a duty to protect the vulnerable and the institutions that care for them. With each rejected safeguard it is becoming increasingly clear that MSPs are failing in that duty.”
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