Constituents regularly email and write to me about assisted dying. Most are against the idea, but there is some support too.
In recent days, those who oppose assisted dying have been in touch in their hundreds about the reintroduction of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which is due to be debated again in Parliament on 11th September.
As you will know, Kim Leadbeater MP’s previous Private Member’s Bill to legalise assisted dying failed to pass both Houses of Parliament by the end of the parliamentary session in April 2026.
Hours of debate on the Bill in both the House of Commons and Lords illustrated why this legislation would have been unworkable in practice. Reasonable amendments that were tabled by MPs and Peers to provide additional safeguards - such as legally excluding those with eating disorders and Down’s syndrome – were rejected by the Bill sponsor.
I was particularly concerned by Kim Leadbeater MP’s decision to remove the safeguard of a High Court judge to check each person’s eligibility for an assisted death before granting that right. The decision to delay the implementation of assisted dying powers until at least 2029 also highlighted the lack of detailed planning or assessment of the impacts of the Bill’s provision on a range of public services.
Lauren Edwards MP has re-introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, after succeeding in the Private Member’s Bill ballot and I will attend to vote against the bill in its current form. I believe the Government should be sorting out the crises and dangers facing the country, not arguing amongst themselves over deeply divisive and flawed legislation.
