The facts
Figures on how we face the end of life.
What worries us, how few of us plan ahead, and where the law stands. Every figure comes with its source and a note.
- 1Most of us have never said what we’d want
- 2What matters most in the last days
- 3How many people plan ahead
- 4Five steps
- 5Death cafés and visiting groups
- 6Votes in the Scottish Parliament
- 7What people in Scotland think
- 8Around the world
- 9Where we stand
- 10Questions people ask
- 11Sources and notes
- 12Counselling
Most of us have never said what we’d want
In a survey of 10,500 adults across the UK, most had never talked to anyone about how they’d want the end of their life to go. Fewer still had talked to a doctor or nurse about it.
Adults who have not talked about their end-of-life wishes
Per cent of UK adults, 2023. Each block is 2 in 100 people.
- 86% haven’t talked to anyone about them
- 93% haven’t talked to a doctor, nurse or other health professional
Show the data
| Per cent | |
|---|---|
| haven’t talked to anyone about them | 86 |
| haven’t talked to a doctor, nurse or other health professional | 93 |
What matters most in the last days
Asked what would matter most in their last days, people put being free of pain first, then having the people they love with them. More than 7 in 10 fear being helpless and dependent more than they fear death itself.
How many people plan ahead
Here is how many adults have taken each step. You can take them one at a time, in any order.
How many adults have taken each step
Per cent. Each block is 5 in 100 people. From two surveys: see the note.
- 14% have talked to someone about their wishes for the end of life (UK)
- 14% have formally recorded their wishes for future care (UK)
- 59% of Scots aged 70 and over have a power of attorney
- 14% of Scots aged 50 to 69 have a power of attorney
Show the data
| Per cent | |
|---|---|
| have talked to someone about their wishes for the end of life (UK) | 14 |
| have formally recorded their wishes for future care (UK) | 14 |
| of Scots aged 70 and over have a power of attorney | 59 |
| of Scots aged 50 to 69 have a power of attorney | 14 |
Five steps
You can take them in any order.
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Think about what matters to you
Where you’d like to be cared for, what you would and wouldn’t want, and who you’d want near.
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Talk to the people close to you
A first conversation can be short, and you can come back to it.
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Write down your wishes
An advance statement records what matters to you, so the people caring for you know what you’d want.
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Choose who speaks for you
A welfare power of attorney lets someone you trust make decisions if you no longer can.
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Make an advance directive
Sometimes called a living will, it sets out treatments you would not want in certain circumstances.
Death cafés and visiting groups
We’re setting up death cafés and visiting groups. At a death café people talk openly about death. In a visiting group, volunteers visit people for company.
12 places where we hope to start a death café or visiting group in our first year
Votes in the Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament has voted on three Bills to allow assisted dying. Two fell at Stage 1. The third passed Stage 1 in 2025, and fell at its final vote in 2026. Here is each vote, drawn on the same scale: all 129 seats.
Votes on assisted dying Bills in the Scottish Parliament
Each bar is the whole Parliament of 129 MSPs.
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2010
End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill, Stage 1
16 for 85 against 28 other
Fell at Stage 1. Introduced by Margo MacDonald MSP.
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2015
Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill, Stage 1
36 for 82 against 11 other
Fell at Stage 1. Introduced by Margo MacDonald, taken forward by Patrick Harvie MSP.
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2025
Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, Stage 1
70 for 56 against 3 other
Passed Stage 1 on 13 May 2025, the first such Bill to do so. Introduced by Liam McArthur MSP.
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2026
The same Bill, Stage 3 (the final vote)
57 for 69 against 3 other
Fell at its final vote on 17 March 2026, so it did not become law. A future Parliament can return to the question.
Show the data
| Year and Bill | For | Against | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010, End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill, Stage 1 | 16 | 85 | 28 |
| 2015, Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill, Stage 1 | 36 | 82 | 11 |
| 2025, Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, Stage 1 | 70 | 56 | 3 |
| 2026, The same Bill, Stage 3 (the final vote) | 57 | 69 | 3 |
What people in Scotland think
The independent Scottish Social Attitudes survey asked about someone with an incurable, painful illness from which they will die within weeks or months.
8 in 10 of us say a doctor should be allowed by law to end their life, if they ask
Around the world
Some of the places where an assisted dying law is in force, by the year it took effect. Each law, and its safeguards, is different.
Year an assisted dying law came into force
A selection of places, not a complete list.
- 1997Oregon, USA
- 2002Netherlands and Belgium
- 2009Luxembourg
- 2016Canada
- 2019Victoria, Australia
- 2021Western Australia, Spain and New Zealand
- 2022Austria
- 2023New South Wales, Australia
- 2026New York, USA
Show the data
| Place | Year |
|---|---|
| Oregon, USA | 1997 |
| Netherlands | 2002 |
| Belgium | 2002 |
| Luxembourg | 2009 |
| Canada | 2016 |
| Victoria, Australia | 2019 |
| Western Australia | 2021 |
| Spain | 2021 |
| New Zealand | 2021 |
| Austria | 2022 |
| New South Wales, Australia | 2023 |
| New York, USA | 2026 |
Where we stand
We believe a terminally ill adult with mental capacity should be able to choose an assisted death, with strong safeguards. We will keep informing people and making the case for a change in the law.
Any law should sit alongside good palliative care rather than replace it, and depend on the person’s own clear, settled and repeated choice, with their capacity assessed.
Our support is open to everyone, whatever their view on assisted dying.
Questions people ask
- What does assisted dying mean?
It means allowing a terminally ill adult, who has mental capacity, to ask for medication they can take themselves to end their life, within a legal framework of checks and safeguards.
- Is assisted dying legal in Scotland now?
No. A Bill passed Stage 1 in May 2025, but MSPs voted against it at its final stage on 17 March 2026, by 69 votes to 57. A future Parliament can return to the question.
- Would it replace palliative care?
No. We believe assisted dying should be one choice alongside good palliative care, and should not replace it.
- What safeguards do laws elsewhere use?
They differ, but safeguards used include a terminal diagnosis, assessment of capacity by two doctors, a waiting period, and the person’s own repeated request, which they can withdraw at any time.
- What about the rest of the UK?
Assisted dying isn’t legal anywhere in the UK. In England and Wales, MPs voted against a Bill at its second reading in September 2026. Nearby, Jersey and the Isle of Man have passed laws that are not yet in force.
Sources and notes
Where each figure on this page comes from. Most surveys of end-of-life planning cover the whole UK; we say where a figure is for Scotland alone.
- Figure 1, talking about our wishes. Marie Curie and Cardiff University, Public attitudes to death, dying and bereavement in the UK re-visited: Opinium survey of 10,500 UK adults in 2023, published October 2024.
- Figure 2, what matters most. Marie Curie and Cardiff University, Public attitudes to death and dying in the UK: Opinium survey of 8,077 UK adults in 2021. People chose their three most important priorities for their final days. The fear of being helpless and dependent is from the same survey.
- Figure 3, planning steps. The UK lines are from the two Marie Curie surveys above. The Scottish lines are from a survey of 511 adults in Scotland in April 2025 for the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement. Registrations: Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, answer to parliamentary questions S6W-42596 to S6W-42602, January 2026.
- Figure 4, death cafés and visiting groups. Our aim for the first year, not a count of groups running now. To confirm.
- Figure 5, votes in the Scottish Parliament. Scottish Parliament, Bills pages and Official Report: Stage 1 on 1 December 2010, 27 May 2015 and 13 May 2025, and Stage 3 on 17 March 2026. “Other seats” is 129 minus the votes for and against.
- Figure 6, what people in Scotland think. Scottish Social Attitudes 2025 (ScotCen and NatCen), 1,494 adults in Scotland, published in British Social Attitudes 43, February 2026.
- Figure 7, around the world. The year each law came into force, for a selection of places, from governments’ and health authorities’ published dates. Laws, who can ask and the safeguards all differ.
Counselling
Counselling is free and by referral. Contact us and we can put you in touch with a professional counsellor, in confidence.
- Emailinfo@fate.scot
- Office0131 271 5971Our office line, not a helpline.
- PostFriends at the End, 42 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4HQ