Scotland’s Catholic Church is urging the Scottish Parliament to reject proposed legislation allowing assisted suicide. …

Anthony Horan, director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office, called the proposed legislation “frankly dangerous.”

“It risks undermining the provision of palliative care and undermining efforts to prevent suicide; it will make the most vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, feel like a burden and its safeguards will prove futile. The current law is the safeguard. We should be caring for people, not killing them,” he said.

“It is understandable that most people responding to the consultation supported the idea of a dignified death – we all do, but killing someone who is ill, is never dignified. The fact that a letter signed by 175 health care professionals from a variety of specialties has already outlined numerous concerns, highlights how dangerous this proposal is,” Horan continued.

“The Catholic Church would urge Scottish politicians to learn of the dangers that have already been seen abroad, particularly intolerable pressure on the vulnerable, disabled or elderly to end their lives prematurely,” he said.