A new proposal to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales was introduced in the UK Parliament, drawing both support and concern from various groups, including senior church leaders.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will give lawmakers in the House of Commons a free vote, allowing them to decide based on personal conscience rather than party lines.
While the full details of the bill have yet to be published, reports from The Times suggest that the proposal would allow terminally ill patients, with six to 12 months left to live, to choose to end their lives with approval from two doctors and a judge. The last time Parliament debated an assisted dying bill was in 2015, when it was defeated.
Assisted suicide remains illegal in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years. Scotland, which has its own legal system, does not specifically outlaw assisted suicide, but it remains prosecutable under other laws, including murder.
Leadbeater, speaking to The Times, emphasised that her bill reflects shifting public opinion and a growing desire for legal options around assisted dying. She highlighted the distressing stories of families dealing with painful deaths or traveling abroad for euthanasia.
The debate has gained momentum partly due to a campaign led by former BBC presenter Esther Rantzen, who is battling terminal cancer. Polling in recent years has shown broad public support for assisted dying, with 60-75% of the British population in favour of legalising the practice.
Despite this support, the bill has faced strong opposition from religious and disability rights groups. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the UK’s top Roman Catholic leader, has urged his followers to oppose the bill, while Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called the proposal a “dangerous” step that could lead to a “slippery slope,” where people who are not terminally ill might feel pressured into ending their lives.
Alistair Thompson, from the anti-euthanasia group Care Not Killing, echoed these concerns, warning that the UK could follow in the footsteps of Belgium and the Netherlands, where assisted dying laws have been extended to minors.
MPs will debate the bill on November 29th, with the outcome uncertain. As a private member’s bill, it is not part of the government’s legislative agenda, making its passage harder to predict.
Elsewhere in the UK, Scotland introduced its own assisted dying bill earlier this year, while the Isle of Man and Jersey are also moving toward similar legislation. In Europe, Belgium and the Netherlands were pioneers in legalizing euthanasia in 2002, followed by Spain in 2021 and Portugal in 2023.
Archbishop Welby has remained a vocal critic, reiterating his concern that such a law would create a dangerous precedent. However, Leadbeater has pushed back against this, arguing that her proposal is strictly for terminally ill patients and designed to address the suffering they experience at the end of their lives.
