The assisted dying Bill is set to formally fail on Friday, yet campaigners assert that the contentious issue will remain on the political agenda. A letter signed by nearly 200 peers warns that the 'vital issue, which has wide public support, will not go away until it is resolved'.
Bill's Demise in the Lords
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which has been progressing through Parliament for over a year, is expected to collapse without a vote at the end of Friday's debate in the House of Lords. This marks the final scheduled sitting before the session concludes. The legislation proposed allowing adults in England and Wales with a prognosis of fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval from two doctors and an expert panel. However, more than 1,200 suggested amendments—reportedly a record for a backbench bill—were tabled in the Lords, causing the Bill to run out of time.
Campaigners' Response
Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the Bill in the Commons in late 2024, has vowed to re-enter the ballot to bring it back in the next parliamentary session. On the eve of the Bill's failure, she stated she will 'keep pushing for a safer, more compassionate law until Parliament reaches a final decision'. A letter to MPs from supportive peers expressed regret over the Bill's fall, attributing it to 'deliberate delaying tactics pursued by a minority of peers opposed to its passage'. The letter noted that over 800 amendments were tabled or sponsored by just seven peers. It emphasised that no vote on the Bill had occurred in the Lords and urged the 'elected chamber to decide what should happen next'. Campaigners insist Parliament must reach a decision on end-of-life choice as soon as possible.
Opposition Views
Baroness Luciana Berger, a staunch opponent, described the prospect of reintroducing the same Bill as 'an absurd proposition', warning it would set a 'very dangerous precedent'. Opponents have branded the Bill 'unsafe and unworkable', citing concerns about potential coercion of vulnerable individuals and inadequate safeguards for disabled people. Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, praised the Lords for 'highlighting the fatal flaws in this dangerous and ill-conceived Bill'.
Dame Esther Rantzen's Criticism
Dame Esther Rantzen, a prominent campaigner for assisted dying who is terminally ill, accused opposing peers of 'condemning generations of terminally ill patients to die in agony'. She expressed 'bitter disappointment' that some Lords members 'have conspired to sabotage our democracy'.
Call for Improved Palliative Care
Charities in palliative and end-of-life care have urged Health Secretary Wes Streeting not to waste the momentum generated by the national debate on death. An open letter from Age UK, Hospice UK, Marie Curie, Sue Ryder, and Together for Short Lives described this as a 'critical moment to turn shared ambition into action and deliver the improvements in palliative and end-of-life care that patients and families urgently need'. They highlighted that the assisted dying conversation has brought renewed attention to the urgent need for high-quality, accessible care.
Next Steps
Amendments listed for Friday's debate include age thresholds for multi-disciplinary assessments and patient awareness of non-lethal treatment options. However, the focus may shift to the process and why the Bill ran out of time, rather than its contents. Campaigners have suggested using the Parliament Act—a rarely used mechanism allowing Commons-backed bills that fail in the Lords over two successive sessions to become law without peers' approval—if the Bill is selected in the next session's private members' ballot. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated: 'We are committed to producing guidance to improve access and quality of care at such an important time.'
