The Bill, introduced by Liam McArthur MSP in March 2024, passed its first MSP vote in May and MSPs on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee will consider stage 2 amendments at a meeting in November. Early next year there will be further opportunity for the Bill to be amended at stage 3 before MSPs participate in a final vote to decide if the Bill will become law.

During the event, Eileen McKenna, RCN Scotland’s Associate Director, Nursing, Policy and Professional Practice, provided background on the Bill, its progress through Parliament and the RCN’s position on the draft legislation.

We have a neutral stance on the principle of assisted dying, reflecting our members’ differing views. However, we are not silent on the issue; we believe that the current Bill does not sufficiently safeguard nursing staff and that further protections are needed, both in the legislation itself and in the guidance that would follow should the Bill be passed by the Scottish Parliament.

Event attendees heard about our priorities for amending the Bill at stage 2, which include the creation of an opt-in model so that only health professionals who choose to participate, and complete specialist training, are expected to take part. We are also calling for a general right to refuse to participate in activities directly related to assisted dying, as a further safeguard, and for the Bill to be amended so that a registered nurse cannot attend to provide assistance while working alone. These priorities were formulated based on responses from our assisted dying member survey last year.

Attendees then had the chance to reflect and provide comments on each of our priorities.

Eileen McKenna said: “While we hold a neutral position on whether the law on assisted dying should be changed, we have a responsibility to ensure the Bill contains the necessary safeguards to protect nurses and nursing practice. Amendments are needed to the Bill to ensure that, if it is passed by MSPs, nurses are adequately protected. We will continue to engage with stakeholders - including MSPs - to promote our priorities for amendments ahead of Stage 2 of the legislative process. The feedback from this event was very useful and will inform our positions and support our influencing work in a way that reflects the opinions and concerns of our members."