Scottish Catholic Observer

The Catholic Church in Scotland has rejected Margo MacDonald’s (above) claim that she has been given a mandate to reintroduce her assisted suicide bill to the Scottish Parliament.

Ms MacDonald, whose End of Life Assistance Bill was roundly defeated at Holyrood last December, claimed yesterday that her re-election as an MSP gave her a mandate to reintroduce her legislation but Peter Kearney, director of the Catholic Media Office, said her proposal had been roundly rejected.

“The fact that the Scottish Parliament last year rejected the Assisted Suicide Bill was widely accepted as representing the settled will of the Scottish people,” he said. “It’s difficult to imagine that public opinion could have shifted in such a short period of time. The vote showed Scottish public opinion is not in favour of euthanasia.”

Ms MacDonald, who pledged to bring back the bill in her manifesto, said that in her fresh attempt she would target MSPs new to the Parliament and ignore concerns raised by her opponents.