As the Scottish Parliament nears its final vote on a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has denounced legislators’ decision this week to reject all amendments that would have allowed for institutional conscientious objections.
“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 bishops said in a March 13 press release. “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 argued that no organization should be forced by the government to be involved in physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia if it violates the organization’s ethical or religious principles.
They concluded by calling on Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs) “to reject the bill, ensuring that organizations providing critical care services are not forced to decide between acting contrary to their foundational values or closing.”
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland, which is neutral on the morality of assisted suicide itself, also came out against the bill after Parliament removed conscience protections for pharmacists, according to Anthony Horan, director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.
In a statement from the society Horan posted on X March 13, the group said it has advocated for pharmacists’ rights since the bill was first introduced. The society’s decision to oppose the bill comes shortly after the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland changed from neutral to fully opposing the bill as well, according to Horan.
The College of Psychiatrists warned that the removal of the whole section of the bill regarding opting out “drastically weakened essential safeguards for psychiatrists and other healthcare professionals,” according to UK Yahoo News.
This is not the first time the bishops have spoken out against the bill. They released a statement Feb. 27 emphasizing that all human life has value.
“True compassion is not found in hastening death but in walking with those who suffer, ensuring they receive the medical, emotional, and spiritual care that affirms their inherent worth,” they said. “Every person — regardless of age, illness, disability, or circumstance — is a gift from God.”
Societies have an obligation to care for every person with love, support, and dignity until their natural death – not to end suffering by “eliminating the sufferer,” the bishops said.
Horan also spoke out ahead of this week’s amendments debate in Parliament, warning that the bill’s most concerning measures will not be alleviated down the road.
“Even MSPs who once supported the Bill now admit it cannot guarantee safety,” Horan said in a March 5 press release. “If it is unsafe today, it will not become safer tomorrow.”
The final vote on the bill is set for March 17.