5 August 2025
In July, SCFAD wrote to some of the MSPs who were supportive of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill with some suggested amendments that we felt could improved the workability of the proposals from a perspective of Christian pastoral care. We have now received an encouraging response from Liam McArthur MSP (the Bill’s sponsor) indicating that he feels our proposals are worthy of discussion by the Health Committee in its Stage 2 consideration of the Bill. We are hopeful that other MSPs will now propose these amendments so they can be formally considered.
20 June 2025
At Westminster, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (for England and Wales) proposed by Kim Leadbeater MP completed its Third Reading in the House of Commons, with a majority of 23. Although SCFAD is primarily concerned with Scotland, we submitted some comments on this Bill as it will have some impact UK-wide. It now proceeds to the House of Lords, but (subject to possible amendments in the Lords) it is now likely to become law later in 2025. However, it allows for an implementation period of up to four years so it could be 2029 before the first assisted deaths become possible in England. (A further vote will be needed in the Senedd Cymru for it to apply in Wales.)
11 June 2025
SCFAD held its first online meeting bringing together the core team and wider supporters. We discussed progress on both the Scottish and English Bills to legalise assisted dying and the Christian ethical arguments involved. We noted that no less than 16 MSPs has responded to SCFAD’s letter regarding the Scottish Bill (see below) all thanking us for our engagement, and four MSPs had accepted our offer of individual meetings. We heard about latest debates on assisted dying in the Church of Scotland General Assembly and in the General Synod of the Scottish Epicopal Church – both churches showing some steps towards a more neutral position on assisted dying. We talked about the ongoing work of the Forum and agreed a number of plans for the future.
13 May 2025
The Scottish Parliament voted to give Stage 1 approval to Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill (the vote was carried with 70 votes in favour and 56 against). This is a great step forward and means that MSPs support the broad principles of the Bill – it now goes forward for detailed consideration of each section, with scope for possible amendments.
Prior to the vote, the Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying engaged closely with MSPs, highlighting the Christian arguments in favour of a compassionate approach to assisted dying (see below). We were encouraged that 15 MSPs responded directly, almost all thanking us for our comments, and four of them met individually with our Convenor.
22 April 2025
The Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying has written to all 128 current MSPs ahead of the Stage 1 vote on Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill (which is now expected on 13 May). Our letter stressed why we believe that it is right from Christians to support the Bill – in particular the suffering that would be avoided if the Bill becomes law. All the letters were hand signed and personally delivered and many were worded for specific recipients – however the most common wording is as in this link. By a week later around 10% of MSPs had responded – most sending thoughtful comments. Some have engaged in further dialogue by email and a couple have accepted our invitation for discussions in person.
29 March 2025
The Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying has launched a simple two-page leaflet entitled Is there a Christian case for assisted dying? We gave out plenty of copies at a major Catholic conference in Glasgow on 29 March and although some people said they disagreed, no one was hostile; one person thanked us for what we are doing. Please feel free to print copies to use locally.
11 February 2025
The Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying made a four-page submission to Public Bill Committee in the UK Parliament on 28 January considering the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (for England and Wales) proposed by Kim Leadbeater MP. Our evidence was accepted by the Committee on 11 February and has now been published on the UK Parliament website.
21 January 2025
Professor Gareth Morgan, Convenor of the Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying, was invited to give evidence in person to the Scottish Parliament’s Health Committee. He responded to questions from MSPs on the Committee regarding SCFAD’s perspectives on Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. He appeared alongside representatives of Friends at the End (FATE), Dignity in Dying (Scotland) and Humanist Society Scotland for around 45 minutes.
As a flavour of the session here is a link to 2 minute video clip where Brian Whittle MSP raised questions around the case for assisted dying versus palliative care. In the responses, Dr Gillian MacDougall from FATE speaks first from a clinical perspective and then Gareth discusses the Christian ethics involved.
Gareth’s evidence also caught the attention of the press: the Daily Mail reported his comment with a headline Assisted dying could be `revolution´ for `relief of suffering´ MSPs told .
A written transcript of the session is available in the Scottish Parliament’s Official Report of 21 Jan 2025 – the slot including the four organisations above begins in column 14. The full official video recording (from which the clip above is part) is available on the Scottish Parliament TV website – the relevant evidence begins at 09:42).
29 November 2024
The Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying warmly welcomes the vote by MPs at Westminster to support the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (for England and Wales) proposed by Kim Leadbeater MP. The Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons by 330 to 275 and now goes on to detailed consideration in Committee and then by the House of Lords. This is the the first time that any elected Parliament or Assembly in the four nations of the UK has clearly voted in favour of an assisted dying bill.
Whilst this legislation will not apply in Scotland (and it is somewhat more limited than the Scottish Bill) a positive vote from the Westminster Parliament is very encouraging – not least because some aspects of the Scottish Bill may need legislative consent motions to be be agreed by Westminster.
28 November 2024
The Herald Scotland has published a letter from the Convenor of the Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying, Professor Gareth Morgan, under the headline: There is a sound Christian argument in favour of assisted dying. The letter was published the day before the key vote at Westminster on Kim Leadbeater’s Bill.
In the letter, Gareth comments on both the Scottish and English Bills and says: “in understanding the faith-based perspectives on assisted dying, it is vital to appreciate that much of the support for such legislation has, over the years, come from Christians and people of other faiths concerned at the terrible suffering experienced by significant numbers of patients, particularly in their final weeks and months”.
On the same day the Forum received an invitation to give evidence in person to the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care Committee at its session on 21 January 2025.
19 November 2024
The Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care Committee published analysis of over 7000 responses to its consultation on Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill (see below). The response of the Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying was one of the more detailed, with comments on all the consultaton questions raised.
25 July 2024
Following a series of email conversations, the Scottish Christian Forum on Assisted Dying held its first in-person meeting which took place in Glasgow. The participants were the five core members of the Forum (several others had expressed interest and sent apologies). Following an opening prayer, the main focus of discussion was a detailed review of the text of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill that was introduced to the Scottish Parliament by Liam McArthur MSP on 27 March 2024.
Whilst the Bill was welcomed in broad terms, a number of issues and comments were raised primarily from a perspective of Christian pastoral care. It was agreed to prepare a detailed response from the Forum to the Bill consultation arranged by the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care Committee.