POLITICIANS IN SCOTLAND have given their initial backing to a bill that would legalise assisted dying in the country. 

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill would allow people who are terminally ill to request medical assistance by health professionals to end their own life.

After a five-hour debate on Tuesday, members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) voted in favour of progressing the bill by 70 votes to 56. One member abstained. It was a free vote – meaning MSPs were not told how to vote by their parties or the government.

The bill will now face two more stages of scrutiny, and could potentially become law in Scotland later this year. 

What’s in the bill?

The bill seeks to allow “terminally ill adults in Scotland, who are eligible, to lawfully request, and be provided with, assistance by health professionals to end their own life”. 

In order to be eligible to request an assisted death, a person must have a terminal illness, defined as “an advanced and progressive disease, illness or condition which they cannot recover from, and which is expected to cause their premature death”.

They must also have been living in Scotland for at least 12 months and be registered with a GP practice in Scotland. 

While the bill states that the minimum age a person must be to make this request is 16, McArthur recently confirmed that he would raise the minimum age in the proposed legislation to 18. 

Two doctors would both have to certify someone is both terminally ill and has the mental capacity to request an assisted death for it to proceed. Both doctors would have to be satisfied that the person is acting voluntarily, without being coerced or pressured.

There would also be a “period for reflection” of at least two weeks between a request being made and the necessary medication being provided. The person can change their mind at any point before going through with an assisted death. 

The bill was introduced by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur in March 2024. It is a member’s bill, not a government bill. 

Is it likely that it will become law?

While the initial vote is being hailed as a landmark moment in Scottish politics, there’s still a long way to go before the proposed legislation has a chance to become law. 

Liam McArthur reacts after MSPs approved the general principles of legislation which could introduce assisted dying for terminally ill people in Scotland. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

It is expected that there will be several amendments made to the bill, with Scotland’s health committee having highlighted a range of areas that it felt needed further consideration.

These include how to fairly assess the decision-making capacity of people with a mental disorder, the provision and quality of palliative care, residency rules and additional safeguards.

It also suggested establishing an independent oversight mechanism such as an independent review panel or a potential monitoring role for Scotland’s chief medical officer.

Questions have also been raised about how assisted dying would be funded. The Scottish government has said that issues relating to lethal drugs were reserved to Westminster and in their view, the bill in its current form “is outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament”.

But McArthur has said he is confident that Westminster would work with the Scottish government if the bill does become law. 

These issues will need to be addressed if the bill gets to a final vote, which is expected to take place later this year. 

What do supporters of the bill say?

Following the vote, McArthur said that the bill has been “a long time coming, but, at long last, it can offer that compassionate choice for the small number of terminally ill Scots who need it.”

The debate on the matter heard powerful, emotional testimony from some MSPs as to why they felt the bill was needed.

At around 7 tonight, MSPs will cast their votes on Stage 1 of Liam McArthur's Bill to give terminally ill people choice and dignity at the end of their lives.

I will be voting in favour. Here is why👇 pic.twitter.com/BT95pAOjWC

— Elena Whitham MSP (@ElenaWhitham) May 13, 2025

One such contribution came from SNP backbencher Elena Whitham, who told MSPs that her mother had chosen to starve herself “to hasten her inevitable death” after being diagnosed with stage four terminal lung cancer. She said it took two weeks for her die.

“My mum deserved to plan a compassionate death, surrounded by her family, not one she had to conduct in secret,” she said, adding that her mother had not told anyone what she was doing.

Ally Thomson, director of Dignity in Dying Scotland, hailed the vote as a “watershed moment for compassion”.

“MSPs have today taken an historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people,” she added.

What do critics of the bill say?

Some MSPs have voiced concerns that the bill could see disabled and vulnerable people being coerced into ending their lives prematurely.

Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy, who was the first permanent wheelchair user to be elected to Holyrood, described the bill as a “slippery slope”.

She told MSPs during the debate: “Rather than legislating to assist to die, let us resolve to legislate to assist people to live.”

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A number of high profile MSPs also voted against the bill, including First Minister John Swinney, and former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.

Before the vote, Sturgeon said she would not back the bill, calling it the “most difficult decision” of her career and citing concerns around the definition of terminal illness being too wide, possible coercion and “how it might profoundly change society’s attitude to life and death”. 

Stuart Weir, head of the Christian charity Care for Scotland, has said assisted dying “would undermine suicide prevention in Scotland and send a harmful message that some lives aren’t worth living”. 

What happens next?

Holyrood had previously rejected two attempts to legalise assisted dying at the first vote, with MSPs voting down similar proposals in both 2010 and 2015.

Following this vote, the bill has now passed Stage One. This saw Scotland’s health, social care and sport committee examine and report on the bill, followed by a debate and vote on the general principles of the bill – which took place on Tuesday. 

The proposed legislation now progresses to Stage Two, which will give MSPs the opportunity to propose amendments to the bill as it currently stands.

Any MSP can suggest amendments, but only members of the Stage Two committee can decide on them. 

If the bill progresses to Stage Three, MSPs can propose further amendments, which are then debated and decided on in the parliament’s debating chamber. At this stage, all MSPs can vote on the proposed amendments, not just those on a committee.

There is then a debate on whether to pass the bill. If it passes, it becomes law.