Scottish Parliament – March 13, 2026 – 1.148.5

Amendment 247, which is in my name, would introduce a new subsection in section 21A that would create a mandatory requirement for all public-facing communications about assisted dying to include suicide prevention information. Its purpose is to ensure that vulnerable individuals, including those experiencing distress or suicidal thoughts, are provided with clear guidance and access to appropriate crisis support services. Language is important in this debate. The bill that is before us is called the assisted dying bill, but we know that that language confuses people, because there are people who believe that the term “assisted dying” covers palliative care, the administration of pain relief and anyone’s life in a hospice. In reality, the bill is about assisting suicide. That is the legal reality. It has never been the case in Scots law that assisting someone to end their life has been legal, so the bill will represent a fundamental change in our law. On the two previous occasions when the Parliament has debated similar bills, those bills have been described as assisted suicide bills. There has been a deliberate change to sanitise the debate that we are having.