The Church of Scotland says it’s position on the issue of assisted dying is “under review”.
It comes as members of the Scottish Parliament voted to back the general principles of allowing assisted dying for terminally ill adults in Scotland.
Holyrood voted in favour of the Bill by 70 votes to 56, after almost five hours of debate.
It still needs to pass through two more stages before it could become law.
The Church of Scotland will set out its final report on the issue at a meeting of the General Assembly on Monday. It has historically been opposed to assisted dying and euthanasia. However, in a statement Rev Dr John Ferguson, Convener of the Church of Scotland Assisted Dying Working Group said “This position is under review” after “studying the ethical, spiritual, theological and practical issues related to assisted dying for the past two years”.
He said the Church was aware that the result of the Holyrood vote would “mean different things for each of us” and he acknowledged the depth of feeling that would bring. He added that the Church would continue to press MSPs for safeguards especially the need for greater support for palliative care.
Calling for robust and thorough scrutiny of the Bill as it makes its way through Parliament and for greater discussion of the issues such as eligibility, safeguards and social care, Rev Ferguson said that acknowledging the integrity with which these different views are held “does not make the Church neutral on this issue. The report coming to next week's General Assembly is better described as seeking to be fully engaged. It is in a spirit of openness and respect that we have sought to listen to and understand all sides of the debate as fairly and as objectively as possible.
“It will be for the General Assembly to determine a response to our report and in the context of Parliament's vote on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.”
Stuart Weir, the head of the Christian social policy charity CARE for Scotland said he was “deeply saddened” by the outcome of the Holyrood vote.