SW News: Scottish faith leaders are joining forces to appeal to Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) to oppose legalizing euthanasia.

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland Vice-President Bishop John Keenan, Church of Scotland General Assembly Moderator Right Rev. Iain Greenshields and Dundee Central Mosque Imam Shaykh Hamza Khandwalla met with MSPs in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, May 18, to convey their opposition.

The religious leaders signed a statement at their meeting, hosted by the think tank Logos Scotland, expressing their "deep concern" about the assisted suicide proposals and pleading with MSPs to reject them. The faith leaders said that assisted suicide violates human dignity and puts pressure on weak people to commit themselves.

A joint statement by the faith leaders said, "Our faith traditions are united in the principle that assisted dying in itself inevitably undermines the dignity of the human person, and to allow it would mean that our society as a whole loses its common humanity." They affirmed, "The Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, and the Scottish Association of Mosques remain firm in their opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia."

The faith leaders also noted that "the ways in which similar laws in other countries are being applied, and the effect that its introduction would have on some of the most vulnerable in our society, including the disabled and the elderly, would be extremely detrimental." The statement concludes by urging MSPs to evaluate this bill's ramifications carefully, voice their concerns, and vote against it.

Liam McArthur, a Liberal Democrat MSP for Orkney, is leading the most recent effort to legalize assisted suicide. His Member's Bill would let competent terminally ill persons request assistance in taking their own lives.

McArthur won the right to introduce his assisted suicide bill to Parliament, which is currently being drafted, with a final text planned for later this year. In response to the assertions made by the religious leaders, McArthur said that there is an "unequivocal" need for the law banning assisted suicide to change. He said the proposed assisted dying bill would only be available to terminally ill, mentally competent persons. Furthermore, it will be under stringent safeguards and alongside high-quality end-of-life care.

Meanwhile, on behalf of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Bishop John Sherrington provided written testimony to the Health and Social Care Select Committee Inquiry into Assisted Dying or Suicide. The Lead Bishop for Life Issues said that the Catholic Church opposes the legalization of assisted suicide because of concern for the good of every individual in society, the preservation of this good in legislation, and the spiritual and pastoral care of the sick and dying. Bishop Sherrington also emphasizes the impossibility of a safe or restrictive assisted suicide law.