The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill would have allowed terminally-ill adults to lawfully request and be provided with assistance by health professionals to end their own life.

The private member’s bill, proposed by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, cleared its first parliamentary hurdle in May 2025 when MSPs agreed to its general principles with 70 in favour, 56 against and one abstention.

MSPs went on to debate nearly 300 amendments to the bill and agreed 74 changes to the draft text, including raising the minimum age for assisted dying from the initially proposed 16 to 18.

However, the final version of the bill was last night rejected with 57 votes in favour, 69 against and one abstention.

Most MSPs from Scotland’s ruling SNP voted in favour of the legislation, as did all Green and most Liberal Democrat MSPs – but opposition from a sizeable minority of SNP MSPs and a majority of Conservative and Labour MSPs prevented it from becoming law.

This was the third time the Scottish Parliament has considered assisted dying, with private member’s bills on the matter previously introduced by independent Scottish nationalist MSP Margo MacDonald in 2013 and Green MSP Patrick Harvie in 2015. Both of those bills fell at earlier stages.

The debate around Mr McArthur’s bill, which came closer to becoming law than either previous attempt, coincided with the consideration of assisted dying legislation south of the border and in other neighbouring jurisdictions.

Westminster MPs backed a private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales in a 314-291 vote in June 2025, but the bill has since been held up by opposition in the unelected House of Lords.

An Oireachtas committee in 2024 recommended the legalisation of assisted dying in certain circumstances in Ireland, but no legislative changes have since been made.

A private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying in Ireland was introduced to the Dáil that year by Gino Kenny but did not progress before that year’s election, in which the left-wing TD lost his seat.

The Isle of Man last year became the first part of these islands to legalise assisted dying, followed by Jersey earlier this year.

In a statement on social media, Mr McArthur said: “I’m devastated that parliament last night passed up the opportunity to give more choice and dignity to the dying Scots and their families who desperately need it.

“I believe this only postpones a change in the law that commands overwhelming public support in Scotland.

“Meantime, I cannot thank enough my team, the campaign groups and those who’ve offered support along the way over the past five years.

“But most of all, I want to thank those dying Scots and their families for having the courage to tell their stories. Your bravery and suffering did not get the result it deserved last night, but we took a mighty big step towards doing so.

“This issue is not going away.”