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Legislation on assisted dying is currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament.

The RCN has a neutral position on whether the law on assisted dying should be changed, reflecting our members' differing views on the issue. The Scottish Bill includes a key role for registered nurses and so we have a responsibility to do all we can to ensure the Bill, if it passes, includes the necessary safeguards to protect nurses and the nursing profession.

We are working to protect both nurses who may wish to participate in assisting a death under the framework established by the Bill, and those who may not wish to participate.

As well as protecting our individual members, we are also aware that, if the Bill passes, it must result in a high-quality service which does not have a negative resourcing impact on existing, and often struggling, nursing services.

Our position is that the Bill, as originally drafted, did not sufficiently protect nursing staff and we have worked hard to secure some important changes to improve the safeguards and help address some of our concerns.

You can read more about our influencing work and the changes we have secured in our member news.

We are continuing to work with MSPs across the political parties to influence the Bill as it moves into the final stage of parliamentary scrutiny.

A different Bill is currently being considered at Westminster. For more information on what is happening across the UK visit our UK-wide resource. 

Liam McArthur MSP introduced the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill in March 2024 as a . If passed by MSPs, the Bill will allow eligible, terminally ill adults in Scotland to request assistance to end their own life.

We set out our concerns about the lack of safeguards for nursing in our Stage 1 evidence to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee.

A majority of MSPs voted in favour of the general principle of the Bill (Stage 1) in May. Stage 2 of the process, where MSPs on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee considered almost 300 amendments – took place in November. Ahead of stage 2 we engaged extensively with stakeholders, Liam McArthur MSP (the Bill’s sponsor), and other MSPs to improve the safeguards for nursing staff. We also held a well-attended member engagement event in September where we highlighted our priority issues and gained feedback from members. An amended version of the Bill has now been published and MSPs can propose further amendments at stage 3, ahead of a final debate and vote in the Parliament. If MSPs vote in favour of the Bill it will become law but it will not come into force immediately. If this Bill is to pass, Stage 3 proceedings will need to take place ahead of the Scottish Parliament dissolution in March 2026.

The Bill allows for a registered nurse to take on the role of authorised health professional (AuHP) and provide an eligible individual with a substance to end their own life.

This is a different approach to the UK Bill, which provides that only the coordinating doctor, or another doctor they authorise, may provide assistance. The Bill says little on how an assisted dying service would actually be delivered.

Last year we asked members about their views on key areas of the Bill.

Participation for healthcare professionals:

• The Bill should make clear that an opt-in model will be established.
• Nurses must have a genuine choice about whether they are willing to participate. After calling for the conscientious objection clause to be widened, the Bill has been amended and the conscientious objection provision replaced with a "no-duty to participate directly in assisted dying" clause for health care professionals.
• Provision of assisted dying cannot simply be added to existing teams. We want to see the establishment of a specialist workforce that has opted in to provide this dedicated service, as well as the development of distinct patient pathways.
• Protection from discrimination and harassment is required.
  
   

Final assessment and provision of approved substance:

• We successfully called for the Bill to be amended so that a doctor must undertake the final assessments on capacity and coercion. Once the doctor is satisfied that the individual retains capacity and is not being coerced, a registered nurse could then provide an individual with the approved substance and provide the end-of-life care and support to the individual and their families during the rest of the process.
• Nurses must not provide assistance to die while working alone. We have secured changes to the Bill which ensure a registered nurse cannot provide an individual with assistance to end their own life without another registered health professional present.
  
   

Training, qualifications and experience:

• We successfully called for the Bill to include a clause on the qualifications and experience needed and acknowledge that specialist training must be provided.
  
  

For more on our positions read our parliamentary briefing.

The RCN remains neutral on whether the law on assisted dying should be changed, reflecting the diverse views of our members. However, as the Bill includes a key role for registered nurses, we’re working to influence the legislation to ensure it includes the necessary safeguards to protect nurses and the nursing profession.

In May 2025 MSPs agreed to the general principles of the Bill and it passed Stage 1 of the legislative process. It completed Stage 2 in November, where MSPs on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee considered and voted on almost 300 amendments, some of which were proposed by the RCN.

An amended version of the Bill has been published and the Bill will move to Stage 3, where a final debate and vote will place. Further amendments may be proposed ahead of the Stage 3 debate. If MSPs vote in favour of the Bill it will become law, but assisted dying will not be made available at this point, establishing the service will take some time.

If supported by MSPs at Stage 3, implementation timings are uncertain, and it could take years before assisted dying services are delivered in Scotland. 

As currently drafted, the Bill could apply to all registered nurses across health and social care settings.

We believe that assisted dying services should be provided by the NHS only, to ensure the service is delivered by a specialist NHS workforce who have chosen to opt-in and received in-depth training. 

Section 15 of the Bill allows registered nurses to perform the role of authorised health professional (AuHPs), meaning they could be responsible for providing eligible individuals with a substance to end their life. In practice, registered nurses across various health and care settings may be expected to take on this role.

At stage 2 we successfully called for the Bill to be amended to ensure a registered nurse cannot act as authorised health professional without another registered health professional present.

Other amendments mean that, after consulting with relevant organisations, Scottish Ministers must set out in secondary legislation the training, qualifications and experience that a registered nurse should have to take on the role of authorised health professional.

The role of nurses in assisted dying differs across countries with the equivalent legislation. demonstrates that, over time, nurses have become increasingly involved in assisted dying services. found that nurses are more likely to participate in assisted dying than medical practitioners. 

We did not believe that the original conscientious objection clause offered sufficient protection to registered nurses who do not want to participate in assisted dying. At stage 2we influenced amendments to the conscientious objection clause, which has been replaced with a broader provision which states that no person is under any duty to participate directly in anything authorised by the Bill. This means that health professionals are under no duty to participate and no longer need to claim a conscientious objection if they do not wish to be involved.

However, we have raised concerns about the meaning of ‘directly participate’ and are seeking reassurance about the implications of this.

We are also calling for the Bill to establish an ‘opt-in’ model, where only registered nurses who actively choose to participate are expected to do so. 

The Scottish Bill allows registered nurses to act as AuHPs, meaning they can provide the substance to end a person’s life. In contrast, the Bill being considered in the Westminster parliament for England and Wales restricts this role to doctors only - either the coordinating doctor or another doctor they authorise.

The Bill offers little detail on how assisted dying would be implemented, though accompanying documents suggest it may be delivered by a patient’s GP or specialist doctor as part of routine care. RCN Scotland does not support this approach. We believe assisted dying should be provided by a dedicated, specialist workforce that has opted in and received appropriate training, supported by clear patient pathways. 

The Bill does not currently provide statutory protection from discrimination for registered nurses based on their decision to either participate or not participate in assisted dying. We welcome the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s call to consider a ‘no detriment’ clause during stage 2 of the Bill’s debate. 

We believe the Bill should be amended to provide statutory protection from discrimination for registered nurses, so it is unlawful to discriminate based on individual decisions to either participate or not participate in assisted dying. This provision may provide reassurance for staff who work in rural areas.

The Bill originally did not specify the level of experience or qualifications required for registered nurses to adopt the role of AuHP. We successfully influenced stage 2 amendments that require Scottish Ministers to determine the level of qualification and experience a registered nurse performing the role of AuHP must have and the training they must receive.

RCN Scotland believes specialist and mandatory training is vital for those taking part in assisted dying, to ensure nurses are fully prepared and protected.

In addition to staff who are taking on the roles and functions outlined in the Bill, were are also highlighting that all health and care staff will require some training to ensure widespread awareness of the legal framework and where to direct patients who ask questions about accessing assisted dying.

We believe specialist training must be provided for registered nurses who choose to be involved and the Bill has now been amended to state that Scottish Ministers must specify in secondary legislation the training that registered nurses must receive to take on the role of authorised health professional. Our position is that the best way to ensure an effective service and safeguarded workforce is for staff to be required to complete training as part of an opt-in model.

The Bill currently does not outline specific wellbeing supports for registered nurses and other health professionals who wish to participate in assisted dying. We believe wellbeing support measures should be provided for all staff involved, including access to emotional and psychological support, as well as the development of clinical and peer networks.

We welcome the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s recommendation that amendments should be made to ensure legal clarity and protections for health practitioners when discussing assisted dying with patients. RCN Scotland believes the provision of clear guidance is essential to protect professionals from legal risk if they choose to participate.

We recognise that many members have serious concerns about access to palliative care across Scotland. RCN Scotland believes that, regardless of whether the Bill becomes law, there must be urgent and sustained investment in palliative and end-of-life care. We will be supporting amendments to the Bill that seek to strengthen and improve the provision of palliative and end-of-life care.

The Bill does not currently consider the impact that assisted dying may have on current nursing services. We believe that if the Bill passes, a high-quality service must be established that does not have a negative resourcing impact on existing, and often strained nursing services.

RCN Scotland is engaging members through online briefings, surveys and events to gather views and share updates on the Bill’s progress through the Scottish parliament.

Even though RCN Scotland remains neutral on the matter of assisted dying, we are working to ensure that the Bill contains necessary safeguards to protect nurses and nursing practice, whether they choose to take part in assisted dying services or not. We will continue to work with stakeholders on common priorities in preparing the details of amendment proposals. We engaged directly with MSPs to lay amendments ahead of Stage 2 and briefed the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee in advance of their Stage 2 considerations. Our priorities can be found in this briefing.

If you’d like to contribute your perspective on assisted dying, you can contact the RCN Scotland policy team directly by email.