Labour MP Lauren Edwards has launched a new attempt to legalise assisted dying after the previous bill ran out of time in the House of Lords earlier this year. Edwards will reintroduce the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, having come second in a ballot for Private Member's Bills.
The bill, originally introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater in 2024, passed two votes in the House of Commons but peers failed to conclude their debate before Parliament was prorogued in April. Opponents accused of filibustering after more than 1,200 amendments were tabled, with over 800 sponsored by just seven peers.
Critics called the bill "hopelessly flawed," while supporters accused them of a "denial of democracy." The proposed law would allow adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval from two doctors and an expert panel.
Edwards said: "This long overdue change was supported by MPs and prevented from passing only by a minority in the Lords talking it out. I believe it is a fundamental democratic principle that the elected chamber should decide the law. We owe it to terminally ill people and their families to ensure Parliament can reach a final decision."
She added: "MPs did not take our decision lightly, and as the elected chamber, we had a right to expect that decision to be respected by the Lords, whose job is to revise legislation, not block it."
The Parliament Act could be used to bypass the Lords if necessary. Edwards said it was not her intention to use it, but added: "We cannot allow an unelected minority to frustrate the democratic process a second time."
Dame Esther Rantzen, a prominent campaigner for assisted dying, thanked Edwards for taking the bill forward. She said: "I was horrified by how a small number of peers obstructed the careful Bill the Commons voted for. I hope the Lords cannot obstruct this crucial, humane legislation."
Leadbeater welcomed the reintroduction, saying: "This enables the Lords to finish their work to give dying people choice, compassion and dignity."
However, Labour MP Ashley Dalton opposed the move, stating: "We have debated this deeply divisive and flawed bill for over a year. It would hand sweeping unchecked powers over life and death to future governments. We should not use limited time on something unsafe and not a priority."
