A Liberal Democrat MSP has said Catholic bishops opposing assisted dying legislation are “at odds with their flocks”, after church leaders urged parishioners to lobby politicians against the proposals.
Responding to criticism from the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, Orkney Islands MSP Liam McArthur said the bishops’ stance was expected but did not reflect wider public opinion.
On Friday, Scotland’s Catholic bishops issued a joint open letter warning of the dangers of legalising assisted dying. The letter was read out at every Mass across Scotland over the weekend and called on Catholics to contact their local MSPs and urge them to vote against the bill.
In the letter, the bishops cautioned that international experience should serve as “a sober warning”.
"In countries where assisted suicide has been introduced, narrow criteria have widened over time, placing ever more people at risk, not because of unbearable physical suffering, but because they feel abandoned, isolated, or burdensome.We must not allow such a trajectory to take root here in Scotland," it read.
The bishops also expressed support for proposals such as mandatory training for doctors on the signs of coercive control, proper palliative and social care for people considering assisted suicide, and an opt-out for hospices and care homes who object to assisted suicide.
However, McArthur said the bishops’ opposition put them out of step with many Scottish Catholics. "I think it's fair to say that this is the position that everyone expected the Bishops' Conference to take […] However, it is one that puts them rather at odds with their flocks.”
He claimed that an “overwhelming majority of Scots” support allowing assisted dying for those who meet the criteria, and said he had urged fellow MSPs “to pass this bill and introduce a robustly safeguarded choice that is long overdue and desperately needed”.
McArthur concluded by saying: “Scotland is not breaking new ground but following in the footsteps of other states and countries around the world that have introduced assisted dying laws safely and successfully over the past two decades.”
“There is no reason why Scotland cannot do the same," he added.
A recent poll by YouGov found that 61% of Roman Catholics in Scotland support legalising assisted dying, while 5% said they oppose it.