A vote against assisted dying equates to turning a blind eye to suffering, writes Kim Leadbeater

13 June 2025, 09:04 | Updated: 13 June 2025, 09:06

I thought long and hard about whether to introduce my Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons last year.

Changing the law on assisted dying is a significant step - one that needs robust safeguards, compassionate debate and careful scrutiny.

What ultimately convinced me then, and what continues to spur me on, is what terminally ill people and bereaved families have told me: that the law as it stands does not work. Three-quarters of the public agree we need change, and with ever more jurisdictions around the world offering a safe, legal choice to terminally ill people, I felt it was time for the UK to act.

In November, at the first key debate on my Bill, a majority of my colleagues agreed with the principle of giving dying people choice. Now, as they come to debate it once again - after many weeks of scrutiny and several important changes made - MPs can be confident in supporting a Bill that is the strongest in the world; safe, compassionate and practical.

We desperately need this change. Despite excellent palliative care, people are still enduring traumatic deaths against their wishes. Some choose to stop eating and drinking; a legal option but one that can take weeks. Hundreds of terminally ill people each year resort to taking their own lives, often alone. The few who can afford to go to Dignitas do so under a veil of secrecy and fear, terrified they will be stopped or their loved ones investigated by police.

This morning, some of the people who have so bravely shared their stories will be watching from the public gallery: Sophie, who has terminal cancer, and her 18-year-old daughter; Catie and her sister, whose mother travelled to Switzerland to avoid the final agonising stages of motor neurone disease; Josh, whose mother had Huntington’s Disease and tragically took her own life last year.

Colleagues should remember that voting no is not a decision without consequence. It means turning a blind eye to the very real suffering experienced by people up and down the country.

I believe we can and must do better, and that this Bill is the way to achieve it. It is already one of the most scrutinised Private Member’s Bills in modern times, and that has undoubtedly made it stronger. The Leader of the House confirmed last week that, as it nears 100 hours of debate across Second Reading, Committee stage and the first day of Report stage, the Bill has already benefited from more time than most government legislation.

A cross-party Public Bill Committee examined the Bill line-by line-over many weeks, hearing from experts from the UK and overseas, and debating over 500 amendments. 150 were adopted, including several from MPs fundamentally opposed to the Bill. It has strengthened as a result, with key changes such as a new judge-appointed multidisciplinary panel to assess each patient’s request alongside two doctors, mandatory training for healthcare professionals on detecting coercion, and greater protections for disabled people.

This Bill is safer, more robust and more thoroughly considered than any previous proposal on assisted dying; here or abroad. It goes further than any in the world to ensure decisions are informed, settled and free from pressure, as the Government’s own impact assessment has confirmed.

I and colleagues have spent months engaging with concerns, responding to evidence, and working across the aisle. All the while, the public’s call for change has remained loud and clear. Parliament now faces a clear decision. We can pass a world-leading assisted dying law. Or we can allow the status quo to continue, with bereaved relatives facing prosecutions and too many terminally ill people not having the control and dignity they want, should they choose it.

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