Scottish Parliament votes against legalising assisted dying

Protesters opposing assisted dying gather outside the Scottish Parliament (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)

The Scottish Parliament has voted against a bill that would have made Scotland the first country in the UK to back the legalisation of assisted dying.

MSPs at Holyrood decided last night to reject Lib Dem Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

At the end of an emotional debate,the results of the final vote emerged just after 10pm,showing 69 had opposed the bill and 57 voted to back it.

When MSPs last voted on the bill in May 2025,70 supported it and 56 were opposed.

The bill itself shifted considerably over that time,with 175 amendments being accepted in the past week alone.

Bodies including the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland (RCPsychiS) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland withdrew support due to some of the changes.

At the end of the process,they would have then needed to administer the lethal substance themselves.

Liam McArthur’s effort marked the third time the Scottish Parliament has contemplated the legalisation of assisted dying,with previous bills being voted down by large margins.

Liam McArthur joins pro-assisted dying campaigners

The Liberal Democrat MSP said his proposals had the ‘overwhelming support of a significant majority of Scots regardless of religious affiliation,political party or disability status’.

Nevertheless,it was opposed by several influential figures in Holyrood,including First Minister John Swinney,Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar,and Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay.

Findlay was among those who have changed their mind on the bill,saying he has concerns about the potential for coercion.

The vote came amid controversy over the handling of the separate proposed legislation on assisted dying in England and Wales.

MPs in the House of Commons voted to back legalisation in June last year,but the bill has stalled in the House of Lords as peers discuss more than 1,200 amendments.

Supporters of Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill now say it is now almost certain to fail,as there is not enough time to debate every measure before the King’s Speech in May.

They are now urging Sir Keir Starmer to find time in the new session for Parliament to come to a decision on the matter.

Meanwhile,the Isle of Man and Jersey have both voted in favour of legalising assisted dying,making them the first parts of the British Isles to do so.

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