Friends at the End

18/03/2026

I’m devastated that parliament last night passed up the opportunity to give more choice and dignity to the dying Scots and their families who desperately need it. I believe this only postpones a change in the law that commands overwhelming public support in Scotland. Meantime, I cannot thank enough my team, the campaign groups and those who’ve offered support along the way over the past five years. But most of all, I want to thank those dying Scots and their families for having the courage to tell their stories. Your bravery and suffering did not get the result it deserved last night, but we took a mighty big step towards doing so. This issue is not going away

17/03/2026

This morning, campaigners and supporters from across Scotland gathered outside Holyrood to call on MSPs to back compassionate choice for terminally ill Scots.

We’re so grateful to everyone who came along, particularly to those who stood up and shared their stories to highlight the urgent need for a change in the law. It will now be for MSPs to decide whether to maintain the cruel and unfair status quo, or to back safe, legal choice for dying people in Scotland.

16/03/2026

MSP Sandesh Gulhane speaks up on why he supports the Scottish Assisted Dying Bill.

Why I believe a safe assisted dying law is the right choice, says Sandesh Gulhane 👇

16/03/2026

MSPs from across the parties have shown their support for the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, gathering on the steps of Holyrood with photos of loved ones and constituency members.

MSPs issued a letter to their colleagues saying:
“On many issues that come before us in Parliament we differ in opinion, but when it comes to extending compassion and safety to dying people we are united in our support for dignity and choice.

Over the last few years, we have each heard from constituents across Scotland about the heavy toll the ban on assisted dying has taken on them and the urgent need for the law to change. We have heard from a mother who watched her son beg to die when the pain caused by his endocrine cancer became too much to bear, from a daughter who watched her mum starve and dehydrate to death over the course of 18 long days when she reached the limit of MND, from a widow who returned home to Scotland alone after accompanying her dying husband to Switzerland to face a police interview, from dying people considering how best to take matters into their own hands should their suffering become unbearable and many more people with terminal illness consumed by the fear of a protracted and painful death.

While all the experiences they shared were different in nature, there was one constant – that in each and every case a safe and compassionate assisted dying law would have lessened their pain and made both living with a terminal diagnosis and loss that bit more bearable.

In every constituency there are stories like these – real people enduring real suffering. In every single constituency the voting public support changing the law on assisted dying.

The Bill that is in front of us has been through rigorous scrutiny, is robustly evidenced and puts in place a range of protections that simply do not exist at the moment. It will make assisted dying the most safeguarded end of life option. 300 million people around the world already have access to some form of assisted dying. There is no evidence of abuse of these laws and extensive evidence to show that they address the failings created by a blanket ban on assisted dying.

The current situation can not continue – it is demonstrably cruel, dangerous and ineffective. It denies dying people choice and fails to protect anyone. By contrast Liam McArthur MSP’s Bill will create new protections for people at end of life and offers this Parliament the opportunity to put in place a safe, regulated framework that will work alongside palliative care to provide choice and compassion when people need it most. This issue is not going away, banning assisted dying does not stop assisted dying, it merely drives it overseas, underground and behind closed doors. As such, voting against this bill has serious consequences, leaving dying Scots more at risk, isolated and vulnerable.

We urge you to keep the voices and experiences of those most affected by this issue front of mind and to vote in favour of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Scotland Bill on the 17th March.”

16/03/2026

A broad coalition of signatories that include medical professionals, legal experts, campaigners and people with lived experience of terminal illness and end-of-life care, has signed an open letter to MSPs urging them to support the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

Coordinated by Friends at the End (FATE), the open letter to MSPs has been published less than one week before the Scottish Parliament vote on Tuesday 17th March and calls on them to “separate fear from fact” in the final stages of the debate.

Emma Cooper, Convener of Friends at the End (FATE), said: “MSPs now have a choice. They can reflect the clear will of the people they represent and show the progressive leadership Scotland’s Parliament has demonstrated before, or they can maintain a status quo that lacks compassion and leaves some people without options.

“The Bill proposes a tightly defined, compassionate and safeguarded choice for mentally competent adults who are terminally ill, with clear checks on mental capacity and coercion, including a new criminal offence. Opposition to assisted dying is of course legitimate in a democracy, but fear-based arguments and misinformation do not serve this debate. MSPs must listen to dying Scots and vote on the basis of fact, not fear.”

15/03/2026

“I don’t want to die, but I am going to. I want to be just like the rest of you – not thinking about dying all the time. But I can’t, it consumes me, it totally dominates my living, worrying about what is going to happen to me and my family. I want my children to not see me suffering, I want to mitigate that. And the only way I can see that happening is through this bill passing.

“When you are debating this, think of me and think of my family, and all the other hundreds of families that are going through exactly the same thing. And do right, do right for Scotland.”

Kate Buchanan, Humanist Society Scotland celebrant, 1964 - 2024, said this about assisted dying to an audience of MSPs shortly before her death. We wouldn't change a single letter.

WRITE TO YOUR MSPs AND TELL THEM TO BACK ASSISTED DYING:

https://humanist.eaction.org.uk/share-your-story

15/03/2026

In the final hours of his life, Tracy Churcher’s son Brian begged his family to end his suffering.

No mother should have to hear those words. No family should be left helpless while someone they love is in such distress as they die.

This Bill has been heavily scrutinised, with more than 300 amendments debated at Stage 3, and Scotland would not be stepping into the unknown. More than 400 million people worldwide already live under some form of assisted dying law.

Next Tuesday, MSPs have the chance to vote for a safer, more compassionate law for terminally ill adults in Scotland. They should be brave and vote for reform.

Friends at the End
Credit: The Scotsman

10/03/2026

My mother would have chosen assisted dying if she could:

"I think a lot of people don't take into consideration the emotional and mental suffering of the person.

"Essentially my mum starved to death, she had multiple blood clots in her lungs which led to her gurgling in her own fluids, she had difficulty breathing, she was completely skeletal in appearance, she was literally unrecognisable from how she was before.

"So seeing this strong-willed, bubbly woman who just loved life being reduced to that was pretty heartbreaking."

Stacy Young writes about her mother's final days in support of the assisted dying bill.

Stacey Young says she is in no doubt that her mother Zena Miller - who died of cancer in 2021 - would have chosen assisted dying if the option had been available.

04/03/2026

Three extraordinary and brave women joined the campaign today to reinforce just why we need a change in the law in Scotland to allow people the choice to die peacefully, and with dignity - if they so wish it

04/03/2026

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/752673. We are reaching a conclusion on the Scottish Bill, and the Stage 3 vote will take place on 17th March.

FATE is watching events at Westminster and the stalling tactics of a few unelected Lords. Please consider signing this petition - we need assisted dying laws to be enacted across all of the UK

We want the Government to do everything in its power to ensure that when bills are supported by MPs & the public, they have the time to complete all their stages in Parliament. We believe this is important to uphold democracy.

26/02/2026

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62dnwwgryeo fantastic news from Jersey - all eyes now on Scotland to follow suit.

The Jersey vote means five parliaments across the British Isles are now debating assisted dying.

13/02/2026

Our Convener, Emma Cooper, is writing in The Scotsman newspaper. The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill is safe, secure, and supported by over 80% of Scots.

In the com­ing weeks, MSPS will cast one of the most pro­found votes since the incep­tion of Scot­tish Par­lia­ment. Liam Mcar­thur’s Assisted Dying for Ter­min­ally Ill Adults (Scot­land) Bill is not about party polit­ics, con­sti­tu­tional...