Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, which opposes the Scottish Bill said:
“The Westminster vote is disappointing but we remain optimistic that MSPs will reject the Scottish Bill currently going through Holyrood.
“When it was launched almost four years ago we were told it was supported by the vast majority of the Scottish public.
“But those backing the McArthur Bill couldn’t even summon the support of 50% of the chamber in a 70 v 56 split, a slim majority which requires just 7 MSPs to switch.
“The majority at Westminster was slashed from 55 at second reading to just 23 on the latest vote – and Scotland requires many fewer MSPs to switch.
“Mr McArthur has a lot of convincing to do before the Bill goes any further, especially following the stinging criticism of his proposals by Holyrood’s scrutinising health committee which savaged more than 30 flaws in his botched Bill. Many MSPs just do not want to risk it.”
“This came on top of an attack by the health minister of the Scottish Government who said in evidence parts of the Bill were legislatively incompetent and the proposed legislation could be beyond Holyrood’s powers as issues relating to lethal drugs are reserved to Westminster.
“In addition, respected legal academics Dr Michael Foran, Dr Murray Earle and Dr Mary Neal, referenced the issues highlighted by the Scottish Government and agreed the Bill lies beyond the legislative competence of Holyrood.
“This could result in Holyrood becoming embroiled in yet another expensive court case as and when any future legislation is challenged through the courts.
‘There is massive opposition to the Bill and our campaign will now be stepped up as we prepare for what lies ahead.
“Palliative care is broken and the NHS on its knees and needs fixing and proper funding – assisted suicide is seen as the cheap alternative by bureaucrats to proper funding for health and palliative care.
“Both sides of the debate agree that palliative care needs to be improved in Scotland, let work together to achieve that moving forward. And in defeat, this debate has highlighted that much more work needs to be done on palliative care in Scotland.”
