Scotland’s Catholic bishops and pro-life groups have raised alarms about the effects a proposed assisted suicide/euthanasia bill on disabled and vulnerable people after a number of key amendments were rejected.

One amendment would have restricted eligibility to those with six months or less to live. Another would have required the provision of a fully funded palliative care support plan as an alternative to euthanasia.

The head of the Scottish bishops’ conference, Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, said: “It will also not exclude a person whose primary motivation for their request is among [the] following nonterminal conditions: eating disorders; intellectual disabilities, including but not limited to [Down] syndrome; mood disorders, including but not limited to depression; anxiety disorders; the receipt of any disability or sickness-related benefits, including but not limited to Adult Disability Payment, or any equivalent welfare payment; loneliness or social isolation; financial hardship or low income; feelings of being a burden to others; poor or unsuitable housing conditions; any other mental health condition or developmental disorder that is not a terminal illness.”