Terminally ill Britons may view Scotland as having a “more positive climate” for assisted dying and could “move accordingly”, if legislation is passed by Holyrood, an expert said.

Dr Claudia Carr, an academic specialising in medical law and ethics at the University of Hertfordshire’s law school, has been studying bills to introduce the practice in both Scotland and England and Wales.

She believes differences between the proposals being put forward at Westminster and Holyrood could see terminally ill people from England and Wales choosing to travel to Scotland to take advantage of medical help to die.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, who has brought forward the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, insisted it was “highly unlikely” that a patient would want to go through the “upheaval” of moving to Scotland to seek such help.

But, looking at differences between Mr McArthur’s proposals, and those put forward by MP Kim Leadbeater at Westminster, Dr Carr said: “I’m beginning to wonder whether some people will regard Scotland as a more positive climate for an assisted death and move accordingly.”

If legislation is passed, the academic said assisted dying could come into effect in Scotland “years before it is envisaged the law in England and Wales does”.

As a result, she said: “Anybody with a terminal diagnosis who feels the clock counting down may well consider their options.”

While Mr McArthur’s Bill requires people to have been resident in Scotland for at least 12 months before seeking to help to die, Dr Carr said that “some people with a terminal illness – projected to take longer than 12 months to run its course – may regard (that) as a reasonable period within which they could relocate”.

She also said the definition of a terminal illness was wider in the Bill currently being considered by Holyrood.

Dr Carr said: “The wording of the Bill in Scotland is wider in its definition than the one in England and Wales.”

The legislation put forward for England and Wales proposes someone seeking an assisted death must have “an inevitably progressive illness or disease that cannot be reversed by treatment”, and states that “their death can reasonably be expected within six months”.

However, in Scotland, the legislation does not include the requirement that a person’s death must be expected in six months, with the legislation before Holyrood saying, instead, someone seeking help to die must have “an advanced and progressive disease, illness or condition from which they cannot recover, and which can reasonably be expected to cause their premature death”.

Dr Carr said: “This means there is no fixed time limit for the expected death, and the provisions of the Bill would apply, for example, to motor neurone disease, end stage heart failure and advanced metastatic cancer – which would likely not be the case in England and Wales.”

With Ms Leadbeater’s Bill delayed in the House of Lords, where peers have put forward more than 1,100 amendments to the legislation, the expert said it would “be ironic if the Bill in England and Wales fell because of lack of time”.

In these circumstances, she said terminally ill patients in England and Wales could still access assisted dying – assuming Mr McArthur’s Bill is passed – if they relocated to Scotland.

Mr McArthur said his Bill “contains a requirement that anyone wishing to access the choice of an assisted death must have been resident in Scotland for at least 12 months and registered with a Scottish medical practice”.

He stated: “In practice, it seems highly unlikely that someone with a terminal illness will want to go through the upheaval of moving away from their home, family, friends and medical support at this point in their life.

“Given that the progression of a terminal condition is rarely linear, making such a decision would be even more problematic.”

Mr McArthur’s Bill will likely face its final vote at Holyrood early in 2026, though there is still the opportunity for MSPs to bring forward amendments to the legislation.

The Liberal Democrat MSP, however, said the Bill “has been a long time coming and subject to extensive consultation”.

Speaking about the legislation, Mr McArthur added: “It has been robustly drafted, drawing on the experience of other jurisdictions where such laws have been working safely and successfully for many years.

“I hope that MSPs will back this legislation which balances the need for dying people to be able to access the option of assisted dying with strong protections and safeguards.”