Bishop John Keenan has urged Catholics across Scotland to contact their MPs ahead of the return of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to the House of Commons on Friday 11 September.

The Bill, reintroduced by Lauren Edwards MP, would allow eligible terminally ill adults in England and Wales to receive assistance to end their lives. A similar proposal was defeated by the Scottish Parliament in March.

Although the legislation would apply only to England and Wales, Bishop Keenan warned that the outcome at Westminster could have consequences for Scotland and potentially renew attempts to legalise assisted suicide north of the border.

He described the vote in a pastoral letter as a “grave moment for the protection of human life”, he urged Catholics to contact their MPs “without delay” and ask them to oppose the Bill.

He said: “Our opposition to assisted suicide is rooted in compassion. Every person, from conception until natural death, possesses an inviolable dignity as one made in the image and likeness of God.

“Illness, frailty, disability, dependence or fear must never lead society to conclude that some lives are no longer worth living.”

Bishop Keenan called instead for greater investment in palliative and hospice care and better support for carers.

“The proper response to suffering is care, presence, skilled palliative medicine and practical support—not the deliberate ending of life,” he said.

Scotland’s Catholic bishops are encouraging people to contact their MP and ask them to protect vulnerable people, support better palliative and hospice care, and vote against the Bill.

Bishop John Keenan is President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland and the bishops’ leading spokesman on life issues. The pastoral letter is available here.