The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales, is expected to collapse on Friday without a final vote in the House of Lords. According to multiple reports, peers have tabled more than 1,200 amendments to the bill, a tactic campaigners accuse a small group of peers of using to run out of time. The bill was passed by the House of Commons on June 20, 2025, with 314 MPs voting in favour and 291 against, but now faces defeat in the upper chamber.
The legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel including a social worker, senior legal figure, and psychiatrist. The bill's passage through the Commons marked a historic moment, but its progress in the Lords has been stalled by the unprecedented number of amendments. Supporters argue that the amendments are not genuine attempts to improve the bill but rather a deliberate obstruction.
I'm terminally ill with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. I've actually lived past my prognosis which was about three years. I'm now doing about four in a bit so I'm doing well to be here. But I'm not going to get better, I am going to die. I have seen loved ones die of cancer and I know what potentially lies ahead of me and it absolutely scares me to death. I am absolutely... petrified.
Public support for assisted dying remains strong, according to a poll by MHP Group and Cambridge University's Political Psychology Lab, which found 75% of the public support the measure, with 14% opposed. Support was strongest among Conservative voters at 83%. Nick Hoile, senior director at MHP Health, said in a press release: 'Support for assisted dying is often portrayed by politicians as either being a controversial opinion, or an opinion that is associated with the liberal Left. This study shows that both of those beliefs are untrue. The public strongly support assisted dying…some of that support is coming from places that you might not expect. The party whose supporters are the most likely to support a change in the law is the Conservative Party.' Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said in a press release: 'There is strong, consistent support for change across political parties, including among Conservative and Reform voters, as well as among many people of faith. When three quarters of the public support giving terminally ill people choice, the question is no longer whether the country is ready, but whether Parliament is willing to act. It is unacceptable that a small number of peers have been able to filibuster and stall a bill backed by MPs and the public alike. The Government must now step in, allocate time in the next session, and ensure this legislation reaches a final decision.'
Four terminally ill women protested on plinths in Parliament Square, stating they face a 'petrifying' death due to the bill's stalling, according to multiple reports. According to Daily Mirror - News, Pamela Fisher, who has stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, described her fear of the death that awaits her without the option of assisted dying. Dame Esther Rantzen accused the Lords of 'absolute blatant sabotage', according to multiple reports. According to Daily Mirror - Main, Louise Shackleton, whose husband died at Dignitas, criticised the peers blocking the bill, saying they should 'hang their heads in shame'.
How dare these ten disgraced peers look society in the face and say they care about dying people, they should hang their heads in shame. How dare they put their belief systems above the care and compassion that should be shown to people who have been promised an agonising death by their diseases.
Despite the expected failure, prospects for reintroduction remain. Around 200 MPs are willing to reintroduce the bill if they come high in the next private members' bill ballot on 21 May, according to multiple reports. However, there is a discrepancy: some reports suggest around 50 MPs are planning to bring forward the same proposal, which affects the perceived level of parliamentary support for reviving the bill. Lord Falconer put the bill's chances of becoming law at 'significantly more than 50%', while Dr Simon Opher put it at 90%, according to multiple reports.
The Crown Prosecution Service has recorded 209 cases of suspected assisted dying referred by police between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2025, according to multiple reports. Only six cases of encouraging or assisting dying have been successfully prosecuted in the last two decades. According to The Guardian - Main UK, Dave Sowry, who accompanied his wife to Dignitas, described the stress of facing police investigation despite no further action being taken. The exact number of cases that resulted in charges beyond the six successful prosecutions remains unclear, as does the government's official position on allocating time for the bill in the next session.
This is a handful of peers putting down 1,200 amendments not to scrutinise the bill, which is their job, but to block it.
Support for assisted dying is often portrayed by politicians as either being a controversial opinion, or an opinion that is associated with the liberal Left. This study shows that both of those beliefs are untrue. The public strongly support assisted dying…some of that support is coming from places that you might not expect. The party whose supporters are the most likely to support a change in the law is the Conservative Party.
There is strong, consistent support for change across political parties, including among Conservative and Reform voters, as well as among many people of faith. When three quarters of the public support giving terminally ill people choice, the question is no longer whether the country is ready, but whether Parliament is willing to act. It is unacceptable that a small number of peers have been able to filibuster and stall a bill backed by MPs and the public alike. The Government must now step in, allocate time in the next session, and ensure this legislation reaches a final decision.
In my case, the police decided to take no further action. What sort of country do we live in where accompanying someone who has made a personal choice at the end of their life results in such additional stress and jeopardy?