The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Some commentators have pointed to polling suggesting that around 61% of Catholics support assisted suicide. This figure comes from a YouGov poll conducted in 2023, which asked about assisted dying in general terms. Now that we know the details of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, we are all now in a much better position to assess the proposal.

Polling consistently shows that when people learn more about the detailed reality of assisted suicide, including the woeful lack of basic safeguards, the risk of coercion, the impacts on disabled and vulnerable groups, the effects on palliative care provision, etc., support drops significantly.

Research cited by Care Not Killing in 2025 shows that when respondents are presented with the risks and complexities involved, initial support declines and opposition increases.

This highlights an important point in the current debate: the more people understand the detail of the proposed law, the more cautious they become about changing the law. Knowledge is power!

The more we KNOW, the more we say NO.

📍 Learn more about the issues at
http://carenotkilling.scot
Now is the time to contact your MSP to share your concerns.

Where assisted suicide has been legalised around the world, the pattern is clear: the law rarely stays as it was first introduced.

In country after country, what begins as a tightly limited measure gradually expands. Eligibility criteria widen, safeguards change, and more people become eligible over time.

Laws that were once presented as applying only to a very small number of terminally ill patients have, in many places, expanded to include those with chronic illness, disability, or other conditions.

This is why many people are concerned about introducing such legislation. Once the door is opened, future parliaments may widen the law far beyond its original intentions.

If you are concerned about the direction Scotland is heading, please take action today.

The more we KNOW, the more we say NO.

Write to your MSPs by visiting:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

Rights are defined by law. They can be expanded, limited or rewritten.

But dignity is different. It does not come from Parliament. It does not depend on health, independence or productivity. It belongs to every human person simply because they are human.

Any law that permits the intentional ending of life risks weakening that foundational truth.

Scotland should uphold the inherent dignity of every person, especially the most vulnerable.

Write to your MSPs by visiting:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

Carefully read the wording of the email before sending. Click the button and enter your postcode when prompted.

𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗦𝗣𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗽𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland is deeply disappointed by the decision of the Scottish Parliament to reject all institutional conscientious objection amendments to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

Every organisation has guiding values that shape its mission and practice and, for many faith‑based organisations, including Catholic hospices and care homes, these values are fundamentally incompatible with the introduction of assisted suicide.

The future of such institutions, which so faithfully and compassionately serve their local communities, some for hundreds of years, is now uncertain if the Bill passes.

The Bishops’ Conference maintains that no organisation should be compelled by the State to participate in the deliberate ending of life when doing so would violate its ethical or religious principles.

The Bishops’ Conference urges MSPs to reject the Bill, ensuring that organisations providing critical care services are not forced to decide between acting contrary to their foundational values or closing.

The right to life is the most basic of all human rights. It is the foundation upon which every other right depends.

Former MP and MSP Dennis Canavan reminds us that a society which loses respect for human life ultimately impoverishes itself. When the law begins to permit the ending of life, even in limited circumstances, it risks weakening the principle that every human life has inherent dignity and worth.

This debate is not simply about individual choice. It is about the values we uphold as a society and the protections we offer to the most vulnerable.

If you are concerned about the direction Scotland is heading, please take action today.

The more we KNOW, the more we say NO.

Write to your MSPs by visiting:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

Be sure to carefully read the wording of the email to make sure you are happy for it to be sent to your MSPs. Click the button on the website and enter your postcode when prompted.

Your voice matters.