Lenten campaign 2026
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Controversial legislation to permit assisted suicide in England and Wales is set to fail because of a lack of parliamentary time.
The government will not give the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill more time before the May deadline, when all legislation must have passed or automatically falls.
Although it may seem early to declare that the bill will run out of time, a press release from Right To Life UK explained why the bill is considered dead:
The Bill is now dead in this parliamentary session and mortally wounded beyond. It is failing because it is a badly drafted piece of legislation and, after appropriate & necessary scrutiny, Peers have rightly determined that the Bill cannot be made safe or workable.
Private Members’ Bills, like the assisted suicide Bill, are only debated on Fridays, and despite 7 additional sitting Fridays being granted for the Bill before Christmas on top of the 7 already scheduled, even pro-assisted suicide campaigners now expect it to fail.
This bill applies only to England and Wales. A separate assisted suicide bill is currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament.
Three in five Britons (61%) support legalizing assisted dying to some degree, compared to 14% who oppose it. However, those who strongly support legalizing assisted suicide remains low at just 28% of the public, a drop compared to the 32% of those polled who strongly supported legalization in November 2024.
Local Church leaders spoke out against the bill, reiterating the Church's understanding of human dignity and sanctity. The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales website encouraged those who oppose the bill to write to Members of the House of Lords, offering guidance on how to write to them, and said:
When a Bill on assisted suicide – so-called assisted dying – started its passage through parliament in September 2024, our Lead Bishop for Life Issues, Archbishop John Sherrington, called for Catholics to unite in prayer and compassionate action.
That call is renewed now as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, tabled by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, has passed through the House of Commons and is now with the House of Lords.
Our clear principled objection to the Bill remains.
This bill is "dead" in Parliament as people around the world look with increasing concern at countries that have legalized assisted suicide.
In Canada, for example, astonishing reports of forced euthanasia have plagued its assisted suicide program since euthanasia became legal there in 2015. Other reports note same-day availability, the killing of a young man with only seasonal depression, and other issues.
Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, CEO of Right To Life UK, which campaigns against assisted suicide and in support of better access to palliative care, said:
Parliament now has the opportunity to drop this divisive and flawed Bill for good, and instead to come together to work collectively to ensure better quality palliative and end-of-life care is available for all.
