SNP will lose support from people of faith if it embraces assisted suicide, says councillor

 (Photo: Unsplash)

The SNP has been warned that it stands to lose party members of faith if it supports calls to legalise assisted suicide. 

Councillor Chris McEleny told The National that backing assisted suicide was "simply not compatible to the faith based belief systems of many people in Scotland".

McEleny, a Catholic, continued that it would be wrong for the party to take positions on "profound matters of conscience such as euthanasia". 

"Therefore to adopt a party policy position that is incongruous to the beliefs of many party voters would make continued membership of the party not compatible with their faith," he said. 

His comments follow the call this week from Josh Aaron-Mennie, a member of the SNP's National Executive Committee, for a change to the law.

Aaron-Mennie plans to bring forward a motion on assisted suicide to the party's annual conference in October after watching his grandmother suffer at the end of her life.

He said the experience was "unbearable" and that she had been "denied dignity". 

The Scottish Daily Record reports that End of Life Choices, a cross-party group of MSPs, is preparing for a third push in Holyrood to legalise assisted suicide. 

News
Church leaders condemn antisemitic ambulance attack
Church leaders condemn antisemitic ambulance attack

Christian leaders have been united in their condemnation of a firebomb attack on four ambulances operated by a Jewish charity. 

Pakistan temporarily halts plan to evict Christians from settlement
Pakistan temporarily halts plan to evict Christians from settlement

Faced with poverty and discrimination, many Christians have nowhere to go.

Where to enjoy Christian heritage on the King's new coastal path
Where to enjoy Christian heritage on the King's new coastal path

Here are five remarkable Christian stops worth visiting on the new King Charles III England Coast Path, each one rooted not only in its own history but also in the wider coastal landscape around it.

Rowan Williams ponders Anglican Communion's survival
Rowan Williams ponders Anglican Communion's survival

In two decades, the issues affecting the Anglican Communion have not changed but the divisions have only intensified.