- Biggest ever public poll in Scotland conducted on assisted dying confirms every single constituency supports law change
- More than three-quarters of respondents (78%) said that they would support making it lawful for someone to seek assisted dying in Scotland, with just 15% against
- Findings released as Liam McArthur MSP’s ‘Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill published in Scottish Parliament (28th March 2024)
The vast majority of constituents in every parliamentary constituency and region in Scotland support a change in the law on assisted dying, according to the largest and most in-depth public polling ever conducted on the issue. The results of the poll are released as Liam McArthur MSP publishes his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament.
The polling was carried out by Opinium Research on behalf of Dignity in Dying Scotland, and canvassed the views of more than 4,000 people across the country. 78% said they would support a change in the law to allow dying adults to access assisted dying.
The polling results were modelled for every constituency and region in Scotland. The highest levels of support are reported in Orkney (82%), Shetland (82%), North East Fife (80%), Banff and Buchan (80%), Moray, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and Inverness and Nairn (all 79%).
Every constituency has at least a two thirds majority in favour.
Constituents of the Party Leaders back Liam McArthur MSP’s Bill:
Humza Yousaf MSP, Glasgow Pollock, 67%
Douglas Ross MSP, Highland and Islands Region, 79%
Anas Sarwar MSP, Glasgow Region, 69%
Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, Edinburgh Western, 76%
Patrick Harvie MSP, Glasgow Region, 69%
Lorna Slater MSP, Lothian Region, 76%
Ally Thomson, Director of Dignity in Dying Scotland said: “As Liam McArthur MSP’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill is published in the Scottish Parliament, the message from constituents to their MSPs is strikingly clear – it is time to change the law and vote to give dying people the choice of safe and compassionate assisted dying.
“In every constituency and region in Scotland there is an unshakeable majority of support for an assisted dying law, with tight safeguards that would benefit and protect dying people and improve end-of-life care as a whole.
“That law is now within our reach. The Bill published today provides the compassion and choice dying people need and puts safety and protection in place where none currently exists.
“I’ve spoken to countless terminally ill people who are desperate for the peace of mind that this Bill would bring, and to so many who have watched someone they love endure a terrible death and don’t wish anyone else to suffer in a similar way.
“The publication of the Bill today gives them all hope that needless suffering can be consigned to the past. We call on MSPs not to stand in the way of their choice.”
Liam McArthur MSP said: “Currently in Scotland assisted dying is illegal, a situation that I believe is failing too many terminally ill Scots at the end of life.
“It is leaving them facing traumatic deaths that impact not just them, but those that they leave behind. We can and must do better. That is why I am publishing my bill on assisted dying, which is being introduced formally in the Scottish Parliament today.
“For many years, polling has consistently shown overwhelming support for assisted dying. I believe we are now seeing the necessary political support, across all parties, to deliver this long overdue reform.
“The provisions I am proposing would be robustly safeguarded to ensure the process works as intended. Similar laws have been safely and successfully introduced in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States where they continue to enjoy strong public support.
“I hope that as they consider the provisions of the Bill, my colleagues will look at the evidence supporting a change in the law and the wishes of dying Scots and vote to give terminally ill adults the choice they need.”
In the Opinium polling, support for changing the law was consistently high across those who plan to vote SNP (84%), Conservative (72%), Labour (79%), Green (81%) and Liberal Democrat (78%).
The polling also found a strong majority for law change among religious people, with 75% of people who align themselves with Church of Scotland/England and 66% of those who state they are Catholic in favour.
In addition, the polling found that more than half of Scots (55%) would personally consider travelling to Switzerland for an assisted death if they were terminally ill, but 57% would not be able to afford it, with costs skyrocketing to £15,000 in the last five years.
Assisted dying bills are being considered in Jersey and the Isle of Man, an inquiry in Ireland has recently recommended law change, and a bill will be introduced in France this year.
Four hundred million people across Europe, North and South America and Australasia live in jurisdictions that have legalised or decriminalised assisted dying in some form.
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