Assisted dying reform makes historic progress, as MPs back amendment extending protections for healthcare professionals in landmark debate 

Today (Friday 16 May), MPs voted to strengthen key aspects of Kim Leadbeater MP’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, marking a historic first as the legislation reached Report Stage in the House of Commons. The successful votes included new protections for healthcare professionals and signal continued parliamentary support for a change in the law on assisted dying.

This milestone moment in Westminster comes just days after the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of the principle of assisted dying for the first time, adding powerful momentum to the campaign for end-of-life choice across the British Isles.

The House of Commons spent more than four hours debating a series of proposed amendments, with cross-party MPs engaging seriously with the detail of the Bill – the furthest an assisted dying bill has ever progressed at Westminster.

This is the first time the legislation – which would give terminally ill, mentally competent adults the option of an assisted death within strict legal safeguards – has returned to the chamber since its Second Reading in November, when a decisive majority of MPs voted in favour of the principle of change following more than four hours of debate. This was followed by more than 90 hours of detailed scrutiny and debate at Committee Stage.

MPs voted overwhelmingly to close the debate on the first group of amendments and move to votes , thereby enabling the Bill to progress over two further days (13th June, and likely 20th June). This followed attempts by opponents of the Bill to delay votes, in response to which  the Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, clarified  that it is usual for debate at Report Stage  to be restricted to a selection of amendments. 

A successful amendment was tabled by Kim Leadbeater MP. It further expands the Bill’s already extensive protections for individual health and care workers, ensuring that, whether they decide to be involved in the assisted dying process or not, they will be protected from professional discrimination. The Bill already specifies that no such professional should be obliged to be involved in the assisted dying process if they choose not to, nor to play any other role in the process beyond providing notifications or recording matters in patients’ records.

A separate amendment tabled by Rebecca Paul MP, who opposed the Bill in November, was voted down by a majority of MPs. The amendment would have allowed employers to ban healthcare professionals working for them from participating in assisted dying, creating practical difficulties for those health and care workers who wish to participate once the law changes; particularly those who work for more than one employer, and could have obstructed the sharing of information on patients.

Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said:

“Today’s votes are a clear signal that a majority in Parliament are committed to both compassion and robust safeguards, and to progressing this Bill. It is a milestone in the journey towards a more compassionate and safeguarded law. MPs debating and scrutinising an assisted dying bill at Report Stage for the first time in history indicates how far this debate has come.

“The amendment passed sends a strong message to healthcare professionals that their right to be involved in the process or not  is fully respected and protected, just as it is in other jurisdictions.

“Every stage of this Bill’s progress has made it stronger, safer and more workable. A majority of MPs backed the principle of assisted dying in November, and now they can be confident that this legislation is not only grounded in choice and compassion, but includes the kind of protections the public and healthcare professionals rightly expect.

“Our country has never been closer to meaningful change. Scotland is progressing its own Bill, the Isle of Man legalised assisted dying this year and Jersey is likely to in autumn. More than 300 million people worldwide already have access to choice at the end of life. The momentum is undeniable, and Westminster now has the chance to make history.”

During the debate, MPs highlighted the many improvements made to strengthen the Bill at Committee Stage – including tighter eligibility criteria, a requirement that doctors can only discuss assisted dying alongside all other available end-of-life options, and the creation of a new Assisted Dying Commission to oversee cases.

Two separate members of the Bill Committee have confirmed that the improvements made have satisfied their previous concerns about the Bill, and that they are now likely to support it at Third Reading. Jack Abbott MP voted against the Bill at its Second Reading, while Marie Tidball MP had voted for it on the condition that safeguards were strengthened.

Several MPs also spoke movingly about the terminally ill constituents who had motivated them to support changing the law. Catherine Fookes MP referenced a 19-year-old constituent with a brain tumour who “doesn’t want to feel infantilised” that he can’t make his own informed choice. Tom Rutland MP spoke about a constituent working in palliative care, heartbroken that her father-in-law had died of cancer before he could have the choice that he wanted.

In Scotland, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, proposed by Liam McArthur MSP, passed its Stage 1 vote earlier this week with strong cross-party support, marking a major step forward in Holyrood. On the Isle of Man, the Assisted Dying Bill has cleared all stages in both the House of Keys and the Legislative Council and is now awaiting Royal Assent, with the law expected to come into force as early as 2027. Jersey’s assisted dying bill is expected to be debated later this spring, after Assembly Members voted to support the principle of the reform last year.

The largest ever opinion poll on assisted dying, conducted in early 2024, found three-quarters of Britons support a change in the law, with majority backing in every constituency in Great Britain and across all demographics.

*Ends*

For more information or interview requests, please email Tom Steen, Media and Campaigns Officer at Dignity in Dying, tom.steen@dignityindying.org.uk or call 07356135578