Scotland's assisted suicide vote: 'A victory for the vulnerable'

I spent yesterday evening watching the Scottish Parliament debate assisted suicide. It was a Stage Three debate, which is the final time MSPs debate legislation and also the last time they vote.

Going into the debate, we needed at least seven MSPs to switch from their Stage One vote and we needed to ensure no-one went the other way. It was absolutely on a knife edge.

Colleagues sat in the public gallery and one told me the atmosphere was eerie and strange. There was a palpable heaviness in the air. Impassioned speeches came from both sides.

But, with huge relief and gratitude to God, I can now write these words: the assisted suicide bill in Scotland has been defeated! MSPs voted 69 to 57 against the Bill. Given that 70 MSPs voted for the Bill at Stage One last year, this is a truly miraculous outcome!

It was, I think by some margin, the most serious and consequential vote at the Scottish Parliament since devolution in 1999. At stake was the very future of healthcare and whether Scotland was going to take yet another step away from God’s design and pattern for humanity.

But thanks to the mighty and purposeful sovereignty of God, Scotland has been spared, at least for now, from the horrors of state-sanctioned assisted suicide. Had the Bill been successful, it would have opened a Pandora’s box, with huge, life-altering consequences for the most vulnerable across Scotland.

Thanks to God’s mercy and grace, instead, yesterday's result is a victory for the vulnerable.

Context behind this result

It’s been a very long five-year debate in Scotland. The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill was introduced by Liam McArthur as a Member's Bill in 2021. Over that time, CARE for Scotland has worked tirelessly to rouse the church to pray and take action.

I want to pay tribute to our Head of CARE for Scotland, Dr Stuart Weir, to our Policy Officer Michael Veitch and to others as well, like Dr Gillian Wright and Dr Gordon Macdonald. From touring the country and different churches to raise awareness, to briefing MSPs and working with allies to land the message: let’s kill the pain, not the patient.

Assisted suicide seeks to claim the right and power to do something that belongs to God. It is simply wrong to seek to help someone end their own life. As the Scripture says, God gives life and He takes it (1 Samuel 2v6).

And while an assisted suicide law might "work" for some, for many others it will put them under pressure. How can we be truly certain that someone has not been coerced? How can we be certain a medical prognosis is accurate?

Scotland was last night spared passing a law that would place a huge burden on the backs of the most vulnerable. As Ruth McGuire MSP said during the debate, her life will be shortened by her terminal illness and the assisted suicide bill scared her.

The church's response

As the church, however, we must be known not just for what we are against, but also what we are for.

We are surely for genuine compassion for all those sick and dying. This means walking with others through pain and illness. It means carrying each other’s burdens and it also means campaigning for greater investment in palliative care.

Besides all this, we must also win the argument that individual autonomy has limits. Instinctively, we all know this, but a belief in individual autonomy lies at the heart of the push for assisted suicide. The church must proclaim clearly that we are dependent beings, made by a Creator God, who loves us and who invites into relationship with Him.

My heart is filled with praise to God following last night's result. But we cannot rest on our laurels. There is much work still to be done to ensure everyone across Scotland has an opportunity to receive the care and genuine compassion they need.