Kate Forbes has warned that safeguards are “still seriously lacking” in legislation before Holyrood to give terminally ill people the right to seek help to die.

The Scottish Deputy First Minister said “critical amendments” to Liam McArthur’s assisted dying Bill had not been passed when they were considered by a Holyrood committee.

As a result, she said: “Safeguards are still seriously lacking in the legislation.

“It leaves a huge risk that this Bill will lead to people dying who want to live.”

With the Scottish Government having adopted a neutral stance on the legislation, Ms Forbes stressed she was speaking in a personal capacity.

She highlighted the failure to pass changes to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill “relating to identifying coercion, or whether an individual is motivated to die by factors unrelated to their terminal illness”.

Ms Forbes was joined by Labour MSP Michael Marra and Conservative Edward Mountain in highlighting concerns they share about the legislation – which is expected to come before MSPs for a final vote in March.

The three MSPs used Human Rights Day 2025 on Wednesday to sign a joint statement claiming the Bill as it stands “jeopardises the rights of disabled people and others in Scotland”.

They warned the legislation “risks creating a society where people choose to end their lives through the NHS because they can’t get support to live, such as social care, healthcare, housing and benefits”.

While almost 300 changes were proposed to the Bill Ms Forbes noted only 74 amendments had been passed, and in their statement the MSPs said “too many reasonable amendments have been rejected”.

The three politicians said: “As MSPs with very different political outlooks we are united in our concerns about the Assisted Dying Bill.

“Every member of the Scottish Parliament wants to ensure compassionate, dignified care at the end of life. We worry that the Bill before us won’t lead to better care but instead entrench greater injustice and inequality in Scotland.”

Speaking at an event in Holyrood on Wednesday, Mr Marra said the “right thing” would be for MSPs to vote down the Bill when it comes before them.

He said “the whole of the Parliament was led to understand that safeguards would be improved” when the Bill was considered in detail by Holyrood’s Health Committee, but “that has not happened”.

Mr Marra added: “I understand very much the motives and compassion of those who have supported those dying in pain, but having studied the issue and engaged with interest groups and constituents, I came to the view that risk of internal coercion are too great in a country that is as unequal as our own.”

Mr Mountain stressed the need to improve palliative care for those who are terminally ill.

He said: “There is a huge feeling out there that sometimes if you don’t have palliative care, the best thing is to end your life, and that seriously worries me, that is what worries me most about this Bill.

“If we don’t offer people proper palliative care, and we don’t offer them options apart from assisted suicide, that is not the way forward.”

Mr McArthur has previously said there are “strong protections and safeguards” included in the legislation.

Changes agreed to the Bill now mean that someone with a terminal illness will have to be 18 or older before they can seek help to die, while other amendments will make it an offence to coerce a terminally ill person into taking the substance used to end their life.