Today, we raised a half-mast flag saying “Democracy Failed” outside Parliament as the Assisted Dying Bill fell in the House of Lords, marking what we believe is a shameful outcome and a Bill blocked by a handful of peers.
Louise Shackleton held the flag on behalf of dying people and families who have been failed by the current law. Louise accompanied her husband, Antony, to Dignitas in 2024 after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, because the law here denied them the choice they needed at home.
Louise Shackleton said:
“I am sad for all the terminally ill people that this bill was designed to protect, people who desperately want to live but who have terminal illnesses and face uncertainty and painful deaths. The British public wants this. The House of Commons voted for it. The Bill had momentum, and it should have been decided properly. Instead, we have been left heartbroken; all those words spoken and no decisions made. This is not democracy. This Bill must come back as soon as possible.”
Dave Sowry, Co-Chair of My Death, My Decision, accompanied his wife Christy to Dignitas in 2022, said:
“The case for change was made, but the Bill still fell. We do not accept that this is a fair outcome. It was blocked by a handful of opponents who have stopped the majority of the House of Lords from doing its job.
They didn’t win the argument, and they didn’t win the vote because, despite all their talking, no vote was held.
We are heartbroken and angry, but we are not done. There is nothing humane about a system that forces some people to suffer at the end of their lives without choice.
The public now looks to MPs to make good their decision to change the law.”
Lord Markham said he is sorry that the House of Lords has “let down the hopes of the nation”. Speaking powerfully on the day that the Terminally Ill Adults Bill fell:
“This Bill has had plenty of time compared to other bills, but the House of Lords has just not chosen to use that time wisely. The reputation of the Lords is poorer for it. My true regret is that we let down 70% of the British population who support assisted dying, who saw the House of Commons pass the Bill, and don’t understand how the Lords can block it without even a vote. But most of all, I am sorry to those people who are terminally ill, for whom the Assisted Dying Bill held out the promise of a safe, humane and pain-free death of their own choosing. The current law does not protect people; it abandons them.
I know I speak for many, many of our colleagues here, that we will try, we will try, and we will try again to bring this Bill back as soon as possible in the next session to do what is right democratically and most importantly of all: to give those people who are terminally ill hope and choice of a better way to die.”
Many other peers, including Lord Baker of Dorking, Baroness Hayman and Baroness Harding of Winscombe, also spoke to share their frustration that the Lords have not completed their scrutiny.
Images from today show the flag raised to half-mast against the backdrop of Parliament, alongside campaigners holding placards and photographs of loved ones, underlining the real human cost of delay.
Today will be the final debate in this parliamentary session. At 15:00, when the debate finishes, the Bill will have fallen. It will officially fall when Parliament is prorogued.
The House of Lords Committee stage of the debate has surpassed the word count of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace. Over 75 hours of debate, totalling 607,077 words, have led to only three minor changes to the Bill.
The Parliament Act can be used to bypass the Lords and enact the Bill.
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries, please contact Kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or call 07922363248.
My Death, My Decision is a grassroots campaign group that wants the law in England and Wales to allow mentally competent adults who are terminally ill or intolerably suffering from an incurable condition the option of a legal, safe, and compassionate assisted death. With the support of over 3,000 members and supporters, we advocate for an evidence-based law that would balance individual choice alongside robust safeguards and finally give the people of England and Wales choice at the end of their lives.
Members of the team and people with personal stories are available for interview.
