Controversial legislation that would have made Scotland the first nation in the UK to legalise assisted dying has been defeated at Holyrood.
Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) voted 69 against to 57 in favour, with one abstention, effectively striking down the Bill.
Opponents of the proposed law, which would have allowed terminally ill Scots to seek help to end their lives, hailed the outcome as a “victory for the vulnerable”.
The decision followed an emotional debate within Holyrood, during which Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, who introduced the legislation, issued a stark warning.
He stated that many who voted against his Bill would come to “regret deeply” their choice.
Mr McArthur added that this regret would not be felt “as deeply or as painfully as those dying Scots and their families who desperately need us to act with courage, compassion and urgency”.
The Liberal Democrat MSP had insisted the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill – if it had been passed – would have been the “most heavily safeguarded assisted dying law anywhere in the world”.
But Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of the Care Not Killing campaign group, said: “We are relieved that MSPs have decided not to back this legislation.
“We believe the Bill posed serious risks to the most vulnerable in society – including disabled people and those suffering from domestic abuse.”
He added: “Now the debate in Scotland has been concluded, I hope we can move on to the real issue, how to care for people at the end of life, because the real scandal is that one in four people who would benefit from palliative care across our country are currently not receiving it.”
Meanwhile, Dr Stewart Weir, head of the Christian charity Care for Scotland, said: “We’re delighted members have rejected this irredeemably flawed Bill. It is a real victory for the vulnerable.”
He added: “This Bill would have opened a Pandora’s box which would have fundamentally changed healthcare across Scotland.
“There is no doubt in my mind that members have made a positive and truly compassionate decision today.”
The Bill had proposed that to be eligible for an assisted death a person would have to have two doctors certify they have a terminal illness and the mental capacity to request help to die.
An amendment passed last week meanwhile meant that only those reasonably expected to die within six months could make such a request.
However, opponents of the legislation raised concerns about the impact the legislation could have on vulnerable people, such as the disabled, and about the risks of coercion.
Others meanwhile warned of a lack of safeguards for medical professionals in the Bill, which cannot be included as employment issues are reserved to Westminster.
That saw groups in the medical profession, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCS) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society, speak out against the Bill.
The Bill marked the third attempt by Holyrood to pass assisted dying legislation – though Mr McArthur’s was the first to make it past the first vote.
However, after that vote a number of MSPs withdrew their support, citing concerns about the legislation.
If the vote had passed Scotland would have been the first nation in the UK to back assisted dying – with a similar Bill at Westminster now likely to run out of time to clear the House of Lords.
In February, Jersey passed its draft assisted dying law and the legislation is awaiting royal assent so it can formally become law on the island.
The move follows the passage of legislation in the Isle of Man, where the Tynwald became the first parliament in the British Isles to agree a framework for assisted dying in March 2025.
Mr McArthur said afterwards he was “obviously deeply disappointed” with the result of the final vote.
He thanked his supporters, and told terminally ill Scots and their families: “I am sorry that Parliament has denied you this compassionate choice tonight.
“However, for now we should be proud that this is by far the most votes that an assisted dying Bill has ever secured in the Scottish Parliament.
“This is not a conversation that is going away. For so long as dying Scots continue to suffer as a result of the lack of choice and safety afforded to them by the current law, I’m certain that it will be an issue in front of Parliament once more.”
Similarly Ally Thomson, director of campaign group Dignity in Dying Scotland, said: “I am so deeply sad that the dying people who want this choice have been dealt this blow.
“But for as long as dying Scots continue to suffer, this debate is not going away.
“There is now near universal recognition that the current law is harmful to dying people.”
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