A bill to legalize euthanasia in Scotland has been defeated 69 votes to 57.The bill tabled by Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur in 2024, would have legalized assisted suicide for terminally ill people 16 years of age and older, but failed in the final debate to become law. Scottish Parliament concluded that legalizing euthanasia would be unsafe and dangerous.Reported by Life News, the bill was opposed in the final debate by the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, and the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Russell Findlay, all uniting in their opposition to the proposal. .This week a women's think tank, The Other Half, found the public was similarly aligned with the votes at Parliament.They found seven in 10 Scots were concerned that victims of domestic abuse, who are also terminally ill, could feel pressured to end their lives in assisted suicide is legalised. That same think tank found through polling only one and five Scots would support allowed patients with anorexia to end their lives with assisted suicide. Another poll by No Dead Yet, an advocacy group in the UK, revealed 69% of Scots agreed Scottish parliament should prioritise improving access to care for people with disabilities before an assisted suicide bill be introduced — only 18% of Scots disagreed. .Of those who had a disability, 72% agreed access to care should be improved before an assisted suicide bill should be introduced.Numerous medical bodies in the country have come out in disapproval of the bill, including, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, the Association of Palliative Medicine, Social Work Scotland, the Scottish Association of Social Work, and the British Islamic Medical Association.Not only these groups, but many advocacy groups were in opposition including many disability groups, like Disability Equality Scotland, Inclusion Scotland, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living, and Glasgow Disability Alliance, to name a few, but there are countless others. The bill that would legalize assisted suicide in England is still being tabled; it was introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater..Another country Slovenia, rejected a bill to legalize assisted suicide back in late 2025 — during a referendum, 53% of Slovenians rejected the law, suspending its legalization for a year.
