Assisted dying: MPs wrestle with decision that could echo through history

Channel 4

15-05-2025

The assisted dying bill returns to parliament on Friday after months of scrutiny by a committee of MPs, but its future is still uncertain.
Last November MPs voted narrowly in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
, with a majority of 55.
A number of changes have been made to the proposed law in recent months – causing MPs on both sides of the debate to question whether they will change how they previously voted.
Friday (May 16) will be the first time all MPs – not just those on the committee scrutinising the bill – will have to propose amendments. A final vote could take place next month.
The bill, introduced by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, proposes that terminally ill adults in England and Wales would have the right to end their lives if they are expected to die within six months, have the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure.
More than 500 amendments have been considered by the bill committee, some drawing significantly more attention.
Originally it was proposed that each request to end a life would have to be approved by a High Court judge.
'I'm not a big fan of the decision on death by a panel. That doesn't give me assurance.'
– James Frith MP
Due to pre-existing pressures on the judiciary, an amendment was adopted to replace the role of a judge with a three-person panel featuring a senior legal figure, a psychiatrist and a social worker to review applications.
Kim Leadbeater believes that the introduction of a panel strengthens the bill and makes the process more robust. Critics, however, say it removes a crucial element of safeguarding.
Labour MP James Frith (Bury North) said: 'You've got a panel because it's [the committee] flushed out the ineffective planning of the bill in the first place. That doesn't fill me with confidence. I'm not a big fan of the decision on death by a panel. That doesn't give me assurance.'
'We've obviously got another month before that final vote, and I'll again have those sleepless nights and a lot of thought will go into it, but I think that the bill is in a much stronger position, certainly.'
– Jack Abbott MP
Other MPs feel the bill is in a far better position than it previously was.
Labour MP Jack Abbott (Ipswich) previously voted against the bill at second reading.
He said: 'Do I think the bill is in a much better place after committee stage? I do. Do I think that the bill could be implemented effectively, but most importantly, safely? Then, yes, I do as well.
'So that's the position I'm in at the moment. We've obviously got another month before that final vote, and I'll again have those sleepless nights and a lot of thought will go into it, but I think that the bill is in a much stronger position, certainly.'
'Right now, my quality of life has got to the stage where I've had enough. I want the option there to have assisted dying.'
– Emma Bray
For some families a possible change of law cannot come soon enough.
Doctors believe that Emma Bray has a year to live. She is just 42 years old, but in the last few years Motor Neurone Disease (MND) has had a devastating impact on her body, and the lives of her children.
She is wheelchair bound, barely able to move and talking is difficult.
Fearing how painful her death may be, this summer – after her daughter finishes her GCSE exams – she plans to end her own life by refusing her medication, food and liquids.
She said: ' No one wants to live like this. Right now, my quality of life has got to the stage where I've had enough. I want the option there to have assisted dying.
'I might not go through with it – I might not be able to because of the children. But at the moment, not having the choice makes me very angry.'
Her daughter Ada, 16, said: 'For me, it [assisted dying] would have given me peace of mind. People ask me if I've got plans for the summer, because I've got the longest summer holidays of my life.
'But I don't know what's going to be happening, because I don't know if my mum will be dead or not. And I think just having peace of mind would make the world of difference, really. But assisted dying is not legal.'
Campaigners fear legalising assisted dying in England and Wales will be a backwards step for disabilities groups.
Sue Elsegood has a neurodegenerative condition and can no longer breathe or cough on her own, has to wear a ventilator mask at all times, and requires around the clock assistance. She is also a trained counsellor and has a very full life.
She said: 'I think people that don't know me might actually feel sorry for me. They may imagine that I've got a very limited life, but I do all sorts of exciting things. I take part in, like drama. I've even done sport in the past. I've been part of a football team, a power chair football team.'
'My gut feeling is that it's a slippery slope. I feel that society may value our lives less if this became law.'
– Sue Elsegood
Sue has ' serious doubts' about the proposed law change.
She said: 'My gut feeling is that it's a slippery slope. I feel things could get watered down. More and more people could filter into the criteria and the safeguards would just wash away, because I am good, fearful, to be honest, I feel that society may value our lives less if this became law.'
With a majority of just 55 it would only require 28 MPs to change her minds in the final vote for the bill to be defeated.
Parliamentary groups on both side of the debate say it is impossible to tell at the moment how the final vote will go because the margins are so tight – both say it could be the number of MPs that abstain from voting that could prove pivotal.
Some laws pass with little fanfare, some become defining moments in how a government is remembered.
MPs are wrestling with a decision right now that could echo through British history.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this report, you can find
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Watch more here:
UK MPs vote to legalise assisted dying bill – what happens next?
Assisted dying: MPs on both sides react to bill passing
Where does the rest of the world stand on assisted dying?