Assisted Suicide vote: 'Do not give up hope'

Archbishop Cushley has urged Catholics not to lose hope and to continue praying and working to reject assisted suicide.

On Friday, MPs narrowly voted in favour of introducing assisted suicide in England & Wales, supporting the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by 314-291 votes. Find out how Scottish MPs voted here.

The Archbishop made his comments at St Patrick's Church in Kilsyth on Sunday which hosted the annual Archdicoesan Corpus Christi procession.

He said: "People talk about choice, compassion and dignity - but I fear that all three risk being lost in what we are seeing happening in our country.

I will continue to speak about it and point out in all charity the mistakes and the flaws that are contained in these decisions

"As Catholic Christians we have a consistent principled position that has not changed and that cannot change; life is a gift that we receive and that we pass on to others, it is a gift from God.

"Even if you don’t believe in God, life is something given to us that we cannot take, we can only give back, we can only nurture and we can only love.

"I will continue to speak about it and point out in all charity the mistakes and the flaws that are contained in these decisions, even if they are well intentioned and well meaning."

He echoed the message of Bishop John Keenan, President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland who assured the poor and vulnerable that the Church will never abandon them, writes the Catholic Parliamentary Office.

He said: “I make this promise to all people: the Catholic Church will continue to offer her unwavering commitment to the poorest and most vulnerable. We will never abandon you.”

He added: "Despite the deeply held and clearly expressed concerns of some of the most vulnerable people in our society, including the disabled, MPs have decided to progress this Bill and move one step closer to the establishment of state facilitated suicide.

“There is no dignity in handing a lethal concoction of drugs to a vulnerable person to help them kill themselves.”

“Despite yesterday’s result, we still hold out hope that sense will prevail and this Bill will not pass into law.

Paul Atkin, Pro-Life Officer for the Archdiocese said: "We will continue to advocate for a culture of life, promoting palliative care and ensuring that all individuals receive the love, respect, and assistance they deserve, especially during their most vulnerable moments.

"Our efforts will also include greater education and resources for Catholics and all people of good will on the Church's teaching against euthanasia and assisted suicide."

The Bill will now pass to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

The dangerous Bill, which has been criticised by medical bodies, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of Physicians, has also been strongly opposed by organisations representing vulnerable people across the UK, including the disabled, the elderly, those with eating disorders and victims of domestic abuse, who fear that people will be coerced into an early death.

Whilst the law would not apply to Scotland, it is likely to influence similar legislation currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament and which is expected to be considered by MSPs later in the year.

Keep up to date on this issue by visiting the website of the Catholic Parliamentary Office.

Bill to legalise assisted suicide passes first vote

A bill to legalise doctor-assisted suicide has passed an initial vote at The Scottish Parliament.

The first-stage vote passed by 70 votes to 56 and needs two more phases of parliamentary scrutiny before it could become law.

Bishop Keenan, President of the Bishops' Conference said: "I am deeply disappointed that our Parliament has taken the first step to permit the state to provide vulnerable people with the means to end their lives prematurely.
"Many MSPs, however, expressed significant reservations about the terms of Liam McArthur's Bill.
"I hope and pray that MSPs will take time to reflect very carefully on these concerns and reject the Bill before it is passed into law."
Paul Atkin, Pro-Life Officer for the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh, said: "I know many disabled people and their carers who are terrified of this Bill so it is disappointing that a majority of MSPs didn’t listen to their concerns.
"However only eight MSPs need to change their minds to prevent this dangerous legislation and many said they voted for it only to let the debate continue.
"Democracy is a numbers game, particularly with an election due next year, so I’d encourage Catholics to thank those MSPs who voted against the Bill and to share concerns with those who still support assisted suicide.
"The easiest way is to use https://writetothem.com

Archdiocesan MSPs who voted FOR assisted suicide

Jamie Hepburn - Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
Shirley-Anne Somerville - Dunfermline
Paul McLennan - East Lothian
Angus Robertson - Edinburgh Central
Ben Macpherson - Edinburgh Northern and Leith
Gordon MacDonald - Edinburgh Pentlands
Daniel Johnson - Edinburgh Southern
Alex Cole-Hamilton - Edinburgh Western
Rachael Hamilton - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
Michelle Thomson - Falkirk East
David Torrance - Kirkcaldy
Fiona Hyslop-  Linlithgow
Jenny Gilruth - Mid Fife and Glenrothes
Colin Beattie - Midlothian North and Musselburgh
Christine Grahame - Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
Evelyn Tweed - Stirling
Rona Mackay - Strathkelvin and Bearsden
Gillian Mackay - Central Scotland
Monica Lennon - Central Scotland
Lorna Slater - Lothian
Miles Briggs - Lothian
Alexander Stewart - Mid Scotland and Fife
Mark Ruskell - Mid Scotland and Fife
Willie Rennie - North East Fife
Brian Whittle - South Scotland
Carol Mochan - South Scotland
Colin Smyth - South Scotland
Emma Harper - South Scotland
Martin Whitfield - South Scotland
Sharon Dowey - South Scotland

Archdiocesan MSPs who voted AGAINST assisted suicide

Angela Constance - Almond Valley
Keith Brown - Clackmannanshire and Dunblane
Annabelle Ewing - Cowdenbeath
Ash Regan - Edinburgh Eastern
Michael Matheson - Falkirk West
Graham Simpson - Central Scotland
Mark Griffin - Central Scotland
Meghan Gallacher - Central Scotland
Richard Leonard - Central Scotland
Stephen Kerr - Central Scotland
Foysol Choudhury - Lothian
Jeremy Balfour - Lothian
Sarah Boyack - Lothian
Sue Webber - Lothian
Alex Rowley - Mid Scotland and Fife
Claire Baker - Mid Scotland and Fife
Elizabeth Smith Mid Scotland and Fife
Murdo Fraser - Mid Scotland and Fife
Roz McCall - Mid Scotland and Fife
Craig Hoy - South Scotland

Beyond Consent

Alicia Duncan will talk about her mother Donna, who died by assisted suicide in Canada in 2023.

Her experience shows how safeguards that seem robust can fail in practice.

Her mother’s death is a cautionary tale of safeguarding gone wrong.

Presented by Care Not Killing, Beyond Consent: Rethinking Assisted Suicide Through a Family's Eyes, will see Alicia will be in conversation with Dr Gillian Wright, a former palliative care doctor, on Thursday 24 April at 6:00pm.

Register at bit.ly/beyondconsent

This event is organised by Care not Killing.

Dangers of assisted suicide highlighted

A  public meeting took place at Ss Ninian & Triduana Church in Edinburgh on Friday to highlight the dangers of assisted suicide..

Brian Cairns from the Campaign Against Assisted Dying gave the keynote address, emphasising that “every person deserves to be safe under law, no exceptions”.

He warned that current assisted suicide proposals “undermine the common good for all".

Attendees came from a wide range of local parishes, including St Ninian’s, St John’s (Portobello), St Mary Magdalene’s (Bingham), St Mary, Star of the Sea (Leith) and St Teresa’s (Craigmillar)

Paul Atkin, Archdiocesan Pro-Life Officer, urged action, saying: “With both the UK and Scottish Parliaments expected to vote on assisted suicide proposals very soon, it’s vital that Catholics contact their MP and MSPs as soon as possible.

"The easiest way to do this is through the website: writetothem.com.”

The event was part of a wider initiative supported by The Alliance of Concern – Against Assisted Suicide, which includes Care Not Killing, Our Duty of Care, The Catholic Parliamentary Office, and the Glasgow Disability Alliance.

Archbishop on dangers of Assisted Suicide

Archbishop Leo Cushley visited the Scottish Parliament to highlight the dangers to vulnerable people of legalising assisted suicide.

He met with MSPs from the three largest parties yesterday ahead of a Spring vote on the Assisted Dying (Terminally Ill Adults) Bill.

All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament are being given a special scroll which highlights heartbreaking cases where vulnerable people have either died as a result of an assisted death or have been offered it instead of care, including

Archbishop Cushley said: “I was pleased to meet MSPs from different parties who are very concerned about the Assisted Dying Bill.

“There are arguments in favour of choice, and in a democracy we have to consider them. But more importantly we must have a special concern for the poorest and the weakest in our society.

Archbishop Cushley and Paul Atkin, Pro-Life Officer for the Archdiocese, with a promotional copy of the scroll.

“In other countries where this has taken place, they are the ones to suffer, they have been the ones who have died as a result of this.”

Mark Griffin, Labour MSP for Central Region, said: “The proponents of legislation talk about ‘a choice’, but I have a real concern that a choice becomes an obligation.

“People may feel that they are a burden on society or their families, when that couldn’t be further from the truth; people want to look out for their family, they want to look out for their loved ones, and any kind of societal change that flips that perception needs to be avoided at all costs. That’s a real danger in this legislation.

“There are no safeguards strong enough to protect the most vulnerable in society. This Bill will put them at risk.”

This article reproduced with kind permission from the Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office. See the scroll here. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has strongly opposed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, urging UK Parliamentarians to abandon it in a submission to Bill’s Committee.

Scottish MPs reject assisted suicide

A clear majority of Scottish MPs voted against assisted suicide during the debate on the UK Parliament’s Assisted Dying Bill yesterday.  

The proposed Bill, which applies only to England and Wales, passed its Second Reading at Westminster by a majority of 330 to 275.

A majority of Scottish MPs voted against the Bill with 29 voting against, 17 for and 11 not voting or abstaining.

Paul Atkin, of the Archdiocesan pro-life office,  said: “Holyrood should not take this vote as support for the Assisted Dying Bill in Scotland - quite the opposite.

"Scottish MPs were intensively lobbied by their constituents and gave the issue deep consideration.

"A majority have been persuaded that assisted suicide is not right for our NHS.”

Bishop John Keenan has reacted to the UK Parliament's decision to pass Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide Bill at second reading.

He said: "This is a sad day for the sick, the vulnerable and the disabled in society.

"Today’s vote strikes a blow against the foundational principle of medicine  'do no harm'.

"Since parliamentarians have voted to create a category of people that the state will help to commit suicide, doctors will now be invited to help their patients to kill themselves.

"As we have seen across the world, once enacted these laws are rapidly and dangerously expanded."

The bill passed its second reading with a vote of 330 to 275.

How they voted

MP Constituency Vote
Brian Leishman Alloa and Grangemouth Against
Kirsteen Sullivan Bathgate and Linlithgow Against
John Lamont Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk Against
Melanie Ward Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy Against
Katrina Murray Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch Against
David Mundell Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale Against
Graeme Downie Dunfermline and Dollar For
Chris Murray Edinburgh East and Musselburgh For
Tracy Gilbert Edinburgh North and Leith For
Ian Murray Edinburgh South Did Not Vote
Scott Arthur Edinburgh South West Against
Christine Jardine Edinburgh West For
Euan Stainbank Falkirk For
Richard Baker Glenrothes and Mid Fife Against
Gregor Poynton Livingston For
Douglas Alexander Lothian East Did Not Vote
Susan Murray Mid Dunbartonshire For
Kirsty McNeill Midlothian For
Wendy Chamberlain North East Fife For
Chris Kane Stirling and Strathallan For

Euthanasia expert highlights dangers to Scotland

Catholics have been urged to share details of the Canadian experience of assisted dying with their MSPs by Canadian euthanasia expert Alex Schadenberg.

Addressing a recent meeting at Edinburgh’s Gillis Centre the Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said: “The more politicians know about assisted dying, the less likely they are to vote for it.”

His comments came ahead of the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) decisively voting this week to reject a motion calling for Westminster to legalise assisted suicide.

Alex explained how the Canadian assisted dying law had failed despite initial promises of ‘strict safeguards.’

He highlighted the case of Christine Gauthier, a former member of the Canadian military and gold medal winning Paralympian, who approached the Veteran’s Affairs department of the Canadian Government asking for help with a wheelchair lift but was, instead, offered assisted suicide.

Canadian Alan Nichols was hospitalized over fears he might be suicidal. He submitted a request to be euthanized and was killed, despite concerns raised by his family and a nurse practitioner.

His application listed only one health condition as the reason for his request to die: hearing loss.

Schadenberg said:  “When the law was being proposed in Canada we pointed out all the failures of legalised euthanasia in the Netherlands and Belgium.  

"We were told ‘it will be OK here, there will be safeguards’ and these haven’t worked in Canada, either." 

He added: “It is essential that Scottish Catholics write to their MSPs explaining that safeguards don’t work and assisted suicide laws put vulnerable people at risk.”

Write to your MSPs to let them know your concern about Assisted Dying plans for Scotland at https://writetothem.com

Assisted Suicide: 'An attack on human dignity'

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has submitted evidence to the Scottish Parliament on a proposal to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland.

Responding to the call for views on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, the bishops said that “assisted suicide attacks human dignity and results in human life being increasingly valued on the basis of its efficiency and utility”.

They added that implicit in legal assisted suicide is the idea that “an individual can lose their value and worth”.

The bishops express grave concerns about the serious consequences of legal assisted suicide for the most vulnerable in society.

They wrote: “When the elderly and disabled express concerns about being a burden, the appropriate response is not to suggest that they have a duty to die; rather, it is to commit to meeting their needs and providing the care and compassion to help them live.

Assisted suicide undermines suicide prevention, the provision of palliative care, trust in doctors and puts pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives prematurely.

"If Scotland establishes the provision of death on demand and this becomes normal practice, how will that not become a cultural expectation for the vulnerable, including the elderly, disabled, and lonely?”

Embracing the sick

The bishops also quoted Samaritanus bonus, a letter by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life, saying that proponents of assisted suicide peddled a “false understanding of compassion”, adding that a correct understanding of compassion “consists not in causing death, but in embracing the sick, in supporting them in their difficulties, in offering them affection, attention, and the means to alleviate their suffering.”

The submission touched on the experience of other countries and states where assisted suicide and/or euthanasia is legal, including Canada, the Netherlands, and Oregon, with the bishops issuing a warning that, “No matter how well intentioned safeguards are, it is impossible for any government to draft assisted suicide laws which include legal protection from future expansion of those laws.”

The bishops said that it was “significant” that the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Association of Palliative Medicine in the UK are both opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Criticism

The Bill, introduced by Liam McArthur MSP, has attracted widespread criticism from experts for adopting an extremely broad definition of terminal illness which, in practice, is expected to include diabetes, dementia, and anorexia.

In conclusion, the bishops said that “assisted suicide undermines suicide prevention, the provision of palliative care, trust in doctors and puts pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives prematurely.”

The bishops added: “The poor and vulnerable are already struggling to live.

"Parliamentarians in Scotland ought to offer them care and support to live, not a concoction of drugs to die.

"Killing is not the solution to ill-health, poverty or any other social challenges.

"The state ought to support the provision of care, not deliberate killing, for those at the end of life.”

The submission was made to the Scottish Parliament's Health, Social Care and Sport Committee Committee. It will now consider all responses and take oral evidence from key experts and stakeholders in the coming months before publishing a report for MSPs.

WATCH: Assisted dying in Canada - a warning to Scotland

The dangers of assisted suicide were highlighted last night (13 June) by Ramona Coelho, a doctor based in Canada which has Medical Assistance in Dying.

She shares harrowing accounts of how the most vulnerable people in society, including the disabled, the elderly and those with mental health issues - are particularly at risk.

Watch below or on YouTube (30 min webinar with chapters).

Tell MSPs to oppose Assisted Suicide for Scotland. You can submit your views to The Scottish Parliament here. Submissions should be made by Friday 16 August. 

Catholics urged to reject ‘dangerous’ assisted suicide

The bishops of Scotland say Catholics must urge their MSPs to reject the recently published assisted suicide proposals.

They make the call in a pastoral letter that will be read out in all of Scotland’s 460 Catholic parishes, at all Masses on 27 & 28 April.

The bishops describe the proposal put forward by Liam McArthur MSP, as “dangerous".

They call on MSPs to focus their energies on improving palliative care which the bishops say is “underfunded and limited”.

When vulnerable people express concerns about being a burden, the appropriate response is not to suggest that they have a duty to die.

The letter states, that a law which “allows us to kill our brothers and sisters takes us down a dangerous spiral that always puts at risk the most vulnerable members of our society, including the elderly, and disabled, and those who struggle with mental health”.

The letter cites evidence from other jurisdictions where assisted suicide is legal, including Oregon, where consistently around half of people who choose assisted suicide do so because they feel they are a burden on their families or on their communities and healthcare system.

“When vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, express concerns about being a burden”, say the bishops, “the appropriate response is not to suggest that they have a duty to die; rather, it is to commit to meeting their needs and providing the care and compassion they need to help them live”.

The bishops point out: “When our society is already marked by so many inequalities, we do not need assisted suicide to put intolerable pressure on our most disadvantaged who do not have a voice in this debate.”

Please contact your MSP today to stop assisted suicide becoming legal in Scotland. Guidance on contacting your MSPs is available at www.rcpolitics.org/assistedsuicide, or email office@rcpolitics.org for more information.