Parliamentary Progress

1. First Reading (House of Commons)
   • 16 October 2024: Bill introduced. (GOV.UK)
2. Second Reading (Commons)
   • 29 November 2024: Passed in principle by MPs. (House of Lords Library)
3. Committee Stage (Commons Public Bill Committee)
   • Scrutiny; over 500 amendments considered; about one‐third agreed. (House of Commons Library)
   • Major amendment: removal of court oversight (High Court approval) (House of Commons Library)
4. Report Stage & Third Reading (Commons)
   • 20 June 2025: Bill passes its Third Reading in the Commons by a vote of 314–291
5. Move to House of Lords
   • Introduced in the Lords on 23 June 2025
   • Second Reading in the Lords took place 12 & 19 September 2025
   • A motion was passed in the Lords to set up a Lords Select Committee to examine the safeguards and procedures in the bill. The committee is due to report by 7 November 2025. (UK Parliament Bills)
   • The Bill is in the Committee Stage in the Lords; amendments may still be made there. (UK Parliament Bills)

Campaign Update, 7 March 2026

It is now widely reported that the Assisted Suicide Bill for England and Wales is very likely to fail, as the government does not intend to allocate it further time in the House of Lords.

IN SCOTLAND: The final vote on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament is expected on Tuesday, March 17 – and it is likely to be close.

If you live in Scotland, you can use our online tool here to quickly contact your MSP before the vote.

Note: were MSPs to approve the bill, it would not immediately become law. There is first a four-week period during which UK law officers can refer it to the UK Supreme Court if there are concerns about whether it falls within Holyrood’s legal powers.

Only after that process – and once it receives Royal Assent – would it become law, with implementation likely to take further time.

Campaign Update, 18 March 2026

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill – a separate but similar Bill to the Bill for England and Wales – has been defeated at its final stage in the Scottish Parliament.

Following a lengthy and closely contested debate, MSPs voted against the legislation at Stage 3, meaning the Bill will not proceed and will not become law. The result follows sustained campaigning by disability rights groups, medical professionals, faith organisations and others who raised concerns about the adequacy of safeguards and the potential impact on vulnerable people.

The vote represents a significant setback for proponents of assisted dying legislation in Scotland. While supporters may seek to introduce similar proposals in the future, any new legislation would need to begin the parliamentary process again from the start.

Many campaign supporters contacted their MSPs and helped raise awareness of the concerns surrounding the Bill in the weeks leading up to the vote.

Campaign Update, 24 April 2026

The Assisted Dying Bill for England and Wales has now failed after running out of time in the House of Lords. The government declined to allocate further parliamentary time for the legislation, meaning it could not complete its remaining stages before the end of the session. As a result, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will not become law in its current form.

This is very good news about a frankly terrible Bill. However, supporters have indicated they intend to seek opportunities to reintroduce the legislation in a future parliamentary session.

Campaign Update, 11 June 2026

Following the failure of the Assisted Suicide Bill in the House of Lords in April, campaigners continue to highlight concerns about the implications of legalising assisted suicide in England and Wales.

Together’s Amanda Hunter features in a new podcast series with the UK Medical Freedom Alliance, examining a range of issues relating to the Bill and assisted suicide more broadly.

• Episode 1 reviewed the status of the Bill and developments in Parliament.
• Episode 2, recently released, focuses on the potential impact on palliative care provision. The discussion features Carol Davis and Angelina Ireland, Director of Delta Hospice in Canada, who describes the significant effects that Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) regime has had on palliative care services.
• Episode 3 examines the drugs used in assisted suicide in jurisdictions where it is legal and the lack of detail on this issue within the proposed legislation.
• Episode 4 focuses on the potential impact on the NHS and on the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients.

Amanda Hunter also spoke in Paris at an international conference on euthanasia and assisted suicide in Europe, bringing together speakers and organisations concerned about the expansion of such laws across the continent.

Meanwhile, attention is turning to the Private Members’ Bill ballot. While several MPs who were drawn highly in the ballot are known supporters of assisted dying legislation, some have already indicated that they do not intend to introduce a new Assisted Dying Bill. There also appears to be limited appetite among MPs to pursue the use of the Parliament Acts to force such legislation through Parliament.

Further clarity is expected following parliamentary developments later this month.

Campaign Update, 2 September 2026

A new Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been introduced in the House of Commons by Lauren Edwards MP.

This follows the failure of Kim Leadbeater’s previous Bill, which passed the Commons in June 2025 but ran out of time during its Committee Stage in the House of Lords in April 2026.

The new Bill is substantially the same proposal and would legalise assisted suicide for certain terminally ill adults in England and Wales. Its Second Reading is scheduled for Friday 11 September 2026, when MPs will vote on whether it should proceed.

This means the issue is once again live. Please contact your MP now and ask them to attend the debate and vote against the Bill.