Commons makes history as Assisted Dying Bill reaches Report Stage
Today (Friday 16 May), Kim Leadbeater MP’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill becomes the first assisted dying bill in history to reach Report Stage in the House of Commons – a landmark moment in the campaign for end-of-life choice.
Ahead of the debate, terminally ill people and bereaved families will gather in Parliament Square from 8:30am to urge MPs to support the Bill. Dame Esther’s Rantzen’s daughter Rebecca Willcox will stand alongside campaigners for a change in the law, as they share their dying wishes with MPs. Each has a different reason to support the Bill, but all are connected by a dying wish: when we cannot stay, let us choose how we go.
The Bill – which would give terminally ill, mentally competent adults the option of an assisted death within strict legal safeguards – will be scrutinised in detail by MPs from across the House. This is the first time the legislation 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.
A number of improvements were made to 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 – and it returns to the Commons stronger and safer than ever.
More than 120 amendments have been tabled for debate during Report Stage, aimed at further strengthening the Bill, and ensuring it is practical and workable for dying people, families and clinicians.
Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said:
“Today is a milestone in the journey towards a more compassionate and safeguarded law. For the first time in history, MPs will debate and scrutinise an assisted dying bill at Report Stage – an indication of how far this debate has come.
“Watching from the gallery will be people for whom this debate is deeply personal; terminally ill people and grieving families who simply want the law to prioritise compassion, dignity and choice – and to protect those facing the end of life. Parliament owes it to them to treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
“Every day, we hear from dying people who feel abandoned by the current law, and from families forced to watch loved ones endure needless suffering as they die. This Bill would deliver a step change in how we protect dying people, combining compassion and choice with robust safeguards.
“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.”
This is the furthest an assisted dying proposal has ever progressed at Westminster, reflecting growing momentum for reform among the public, healthcare professionals, and increasingly within Parliament itself.
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.
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For more information or interview requests, please email Molly Pike, Senior Media and Campaigns Officer at Dignity in Dying, molly.pike@dignityindying.org.uk or call 07855209809