The House of Lords has set up a select committee to examine assisted dying in a historic first. No such committee has ever been created for a Private Members’ Bill originating in the Commons, and this has happened just once for government legislation.
Beginning today, twelve Members of the House of Lords, known as peers, will take evidence on assisted dying from the Bill sponsors, professional bodies, coronial services and ministers. The twelve members of the select committee are:
- Lord Hope of Craighead (Chair)
- Baroness Berger
- Baroness Finlay of Llandaff
- Baron Goddard of Stockport
- Lord Goodman of Wycombe
- Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
- Lord Markham
- Bishop of Newcastle
- Lord Patel
- Baroness Scotland of Asthal
- Baroness Smith of Newnham
- Lord Winston
The move to establish a Select Committee was made during the second day of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’s Second Reading in the House of Lords. It will not produce a report or make recommendations, but will take and publish evidence. The Select Committee will report by 7 November, and the Bill will then progress to its Committee Stage for detailed line-by-line scrutiny.
Dave Sowry, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:
‘The assisted dying Bill is the most intensely scrutinised legislation this parliament has ever seen. In 2024, a parliamentary inquiry into assisted dying received 68,000 responses from the public, 389 submissions of written evidence, and held three days of oral evidence sessions. The House of Commons Bill committee this year received 444 submissions of written evidence and held five oral evidence sessions, hearing from 50 witnesses.
‘We hope the Select Committee takes evidence from the most important people this debate is centred around, the terminally ill. We cannot fathom how members of the House of Lords could take further evidence about the Terminally Ill Adults Bill without hearing from terminally ill adults. People who are dying deserve to be heard, they deserve the right to make decisions about the end of their lives, and they deserve dignity. ’
Notes:
For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456 200033. (media only)
My Death, My Decision has people and their loved ones who would be affected by this change available for the press.
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.
My Death, My Decision is a member of the Assisted Dying Coalition, along with Humanists UK, Friends at the End, Humanist Society Scotland, and End of Life Choices Jersey.
