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Peers have been accused of attempting to filibuster the Assisted Dying Bill, essentially causing it to fail by proposing an unreasonable number of amendments and deliberately making unnecessary speeches to time it out. Opponents of assisted dying have responded by claiming the amendments are just for scrutiny and improving the Bill. However, some peers have been overt about their willingness to filibuster the Assisted Dying Bill.

There are several cases of peers being explicitly clear that they are trying to block the Bill by means other than it being voted down at Third Reading – which may mean it fails even if a majority support it:

• After the Commons vote, the Times reported anonymously that opponents pledged to use ‘every means possible’ to prevent it becoming law. One peer told The Times there were ‘plenty of black arts that could be used to kill the bill off’, including tabling many amendments, and that they ‘could not imagine how it could get through’.
• Similarly, after the Commons vote, GB News reported: ‘A number of leading members of the House of Lords have already vowed to try to scupper the legislation’. Immediately quoted is Lord Frost saying ‘Many of us will now oppose this Bill in the Lords, and entirely legitimately… The fight goes on.’
• Baroness Campbell told the Disability News Service that her role will be to ‘amend, amend, amend, amend, amend, so it becomes so tight that anyone would find it difficult to get it’.
• Lord Moylan posted on X ‘Peers are justified in blocking assisted dying bill’ and shared a Times editorial saying peers that ‘Peers who want to continue blocking this bill and prevent it from ever becoming law are justified in doing so’ – something clearly a reference to the use of amendments and speeches to block the bill. Lord Moylan is vocal against assisted dying on X, and shared a post saying ‘The final duty the Hereditaries can do for their country is to kill this appalling Assisted Dying Bill’.

Richard Osborne, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:

‘The mask is well and truly slipping. It is no longer credible for some peers to claim they are merely scrutinising the Assisted Dying Bill when there are repeated, overt statements, and even anonymous briefings, openly admitting an intention to block, filibuster or wreck it. Scrutiny improves legislation; deliberately trying to run down the clock is something else entirely, and the public can see the difference.’

Other peers trying to block the Assisted Dying Bill:

Other peers have also vowed to stop the legislation, whether by voting it down or by filibustering it. The House of Lords is an unelected chamber, unrepresentative of the population and even unrepresentative of the last election. There are no accountability measures for the public, and the House of Lords contains 26 Church of England archbishops and bishops known as the ‘Lords Spiritual’ who have an automatic right to sit and vote.

• Lord Alton wrote in Conservative Women ‘My fellow peers and I will do our damnedest to halt these evil abortion and assisted dying Bills’, and on Politics.co.uk ‘the Lords is within its rights to do what is necessary to make the bill safer for vulnerable people and, if necessary, to reject it entirely’.
• Baroness Monckton wrote in the MailOnline: ‘Why I’ll fight in the Lords against this breathtakingly cruel and ignorant assisted suicide Bill’.
• The Bishop of London (now Archbishop of Canterbury-designate) and the Archbishop of York said during the Second Reading debate that they will force a vote on assisted dying. The Bishop of London told the Standard, ‘I will vote against the Assisted Dying Bill’. The Catholic Archbishop of Westminster told the Times ‘The task is now clear: every effort must be made to limit the damage that will be done by this decision.’

An overwhelming number of amendments:

Over 1,150 amendments have been proposed to the Bill. For a 51-page Bill, this is an outrageous number of amendments. There are an average of 22.6 amendments per page so far. The Bill with the next highest number of amendments this session, the Children’s Wellbeing Schools Bill, had only 5.3 per page.

• Baroness Finlay (190 amendments), Baroness Grey-Thompson (130 amendments) and Lord Moylan (46 amendments) were featured together in an article by The Telegraph titled ‘The peers accused of thwarting the euthanasia bill’. The same article claims that Lord Farmer, who describes the Bill as ‘an atheist bill that assumes there is nothing after death’, is working with Grey-Thompson and Finlay.
• Baroness Grey-Thompson shared on X ‘I have tabled many amendments. Some were ruled out of scope. There are probably another 50 that I haven’t tabled.’ Despite already tabling 130 amendments herself. One of her amendments was for a mandatory pregnancy test for all applicants, including men.
• Baroness Berger (19 amendments) was featured in an article by the Jewish Chronicle titled ‘Baroness Berger tells the government it’s not too late to stop Assisted Dying Bill’

When mass amendment sits alongside explicit pledges by peers to stop the Bill entirely, the distinction between scrutiny and obstruction becomes blurred. Peers who claim a nuanced, good-faith approach should therefore explicitly disavow attempts to wreck the Bill through procedural overload. Amendments have included a holiday ban for all applicants and an unworkable requirement for half a dozen GP visits.

Seven of the most vocal opponents to the Bill have put forward over 600 amendments between them. It would take two decades to debate all the current amendments. 

The Bill must pass all parliamentary stages before Spring 2026, or it fails.

Notes

Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request

For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033. (media only)

Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.

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.

Baroness Butler-Sloss, a senior member of the House of Lords and an opponent of assisted dying, has warned the Lords today that attempts to talk out the Assisted Dying Bill pose a danger to the reputation of the House. This follows a letter from three senior MPs opposed to assisted dying who called on peers not to hold up the progress of the Bill through Parliament, arguing that there was a serious danger of the Lords losing its democratic legitimacy. 

Baroness Butler-Sloss said during the debate:

‘I don’t like the Bill, but I am here like other noble Lords to try and make it work. It needs scrutiny, it needs improvement, but we must get it to Third Reading. If we don’t, there is a very real danger that the reputation of the House, which not only I but all your Lordships care about deeply, will be, or possibly will be, irreparably eroded.’

Kim Leadbeater MP, the sponsor of the Bill, told The Today programme this morning that it ‘would be wrong from a democratic perspective when the Commons has voted for it, and there’s huge public support’ if the House of Lords sabotaged the Bill through running down the clock. 

Today, peers debated unrealistic and discriminatory proposals around mandatory GP home visits, and a proposal that all applicants, including men, undergo a pregnancy test. Peers have debated 101 of 1,142 amendments. Analysis by Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision has shown that seven of the most vocal opponents to the Bill have put forward over 600 amendments between them. While some of the unworkable amendments have been withdrawn, such as Baroness Coffey’s proposal to ban applicants from going on holiday, amendments continue to be added every day.

The Bill must pass all stages in the Lords and Commons before Spring 2026, or it fails.

Louise Shackleton, who accompanied her husband to Dignitas for an assisted death, said:

‘Today, terminally ill people and those bereaved by awful deaths were dismissed as “attack dogs” simply for urging the Lords to scrutinise, not block, the Assisted Dying Bill. The Lords select committee refused to hear from terminally ill people, and too many peers forget who this Bill is for. My message to the House of Lords is clear: we will not be silenced, our voices matter, and legalising assisted dying would give compassion and choice to people who currently have neither.’ 

Dave Sowry, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:

‘It was Groundhog day, yet again, in the House of Lords today. Despite an ever-growing chorus of pleas to peers to stop putting barriers in the way of those seeking a compassionate death, the same very small group of peers ignored these pleas. It’s obvious that the concerted effort to block its progress by these peers, who are all against the Bill as a matter of principle, continues.’

‘They ignore the perspective of those the Bill is designed for, people at the end of their lives. Its aim is to improve the quality of those last weeks, and having accompanied my wife to Dignitas for an assisted death, I know how precious those weeks are.

‘The process must be as simple as possible for the vast majority of straightforward cases, whilst being robust and safe for the remaining tiny minority of complex cases. This small group of peers must not be allowed to undermine the will of Parliament and the hopes and wishes of the public.’

Notes

Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request

For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033. (media only)

Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.

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.

The US State of Illinois has legalised assisted dying, after the Governor, JB Pritzker, signed it into law. It becomes the 13th jurisdiction in the US, and the 35th jurisdiction internationally to enact an assisted dying law. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision are hailing this historic moment and are calling on the House of Lords to constructively work on the Terminally Ill Adults Bill, so dying Brits can face the same choices as the people of Illinois. 

The legislation had already passed the Illinois Senate by 30 votes to 27, and the House by 63 votes to 42. It should come into effect after 180 days.

Since Kim Leadbeater MP announced she would introduce an assisted dying Bill in October 2024, the Isle of Man, the US state of Delaware, Uruguay, and now Illinois have passed assisted dying legislation. 

The Australian Capital Territory’s legislation, passed in 2023, has come into effect, and a new Bill focusing on the accessibility of assisted dying has been passed in Victoria, Australia. Tuscany in Italy became the first Italian region to adopt a law implementing assisted dying, following Italy’s Constitutional Court ruling.

Assisted dying bills in Jersey and Scotland are expected to pass in early 2026. The Terminally Ill Adults Bill must pass all stages by spring 2026

What does Illinois’ new assisted dying law look like?

The law in Illinois is very similar to the proposed Terminally Ill Adults Bill.

Both Bills require applicants to:

• Be adults (aged 18 or over)
• Be terminally ill with a prognosis of six months or less
• Have mental capacity and be acting voluntarily, without coercion
• Be independently assessed by at least two doctors, who must confirm diagnosis, prognosis, capacity and voluntariness
• Complete formal requests and documentation, with mandatory waiting periods

Both Bills introduce explicit criminal penalties for coercion or abuse under the law.

The key difference is that the UK’s proposed Bill requires a three-person Assisted Dying Review Panel (legal chair, psychiatrist, social worker) to assess the patient after the two independent doctors. This is overseen by a Voluntary Assisted Dying Commissioner (senior judge). The waiting periods in the UK Bill are also much longer.

Dave Sowry, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:

‘Congratulations, Illinois, on passing this historic and compassionate law.  The House of Lords should take note of the ever-growing international picture, where all over the world, nations are saying that dying people should not be forced to suffer at the end of their lives.

Almost everyone agrees the current situation is unsafe, unjust and muddled. The Lords must stop frustrating the process and they should not undermine the will of Parliament and the hopes and wishes of the public.’

We were deeply saddened to hear that John Knight CBE, our esteemed patron, died on 2nd December. 

When John joined My Death, My Decision’s assisted dying campaign as a board member, he quickly won us all over with his clarity of thought and articulacy, matched with a natural warmth and optimism. When ill health forced him to step down from the board, he nevertheless continued his support as a valued patron and adviser on disability.

John, who had had a number of severe disabilities since birth, was adamant he would not presume to speak for the wider heterogeneous community of disabled people when it came to assisted dying. But he felt a duty to echo the voices of the majority of them, who he saw as ‘widely ignored, unheard and misrepresented in the urgent national debate’. 

It is no surprise, therefore, that the attitude of some opponents of assisted dying living with disabilities infuriated John, especially when they repeated their mantra ‘nothing about us without us’. As he succinctly put it: 

“It bodes ill that disabled people with an established public platform persistently and knowingly misrepresent the views of the majority. They should stop.”

John worked professionally to enhance disabled people’s independence, autonomy and rights to self-determination, playing his part in major successes and legislative progress – notably the introduction of independent living services and the Disability Discrimination Acts. We have him to thank for the wheelchair spaces that are now a norm in railway carriages. He was made CBE in 2011 for services to people with disabilities.

His career spanned the voluntary and statutory sectors including the Department of Health, Leonard Cheshire Disability and the Commission for Public Appointments. John also held National Board level directorships of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (now part of the Care Quality Commission); the Charity Commission and the General Social Care Council (now part of Social Work England). John’s voluntary roles in public service included as a magistrate, in NHS Governance and in social housing.

We will miss, but never forget, John.

For over 50 years, abortion was legal in England, Scotland, and Wales, but not in Ireland or Northern Ireland, leading to a quarter of a million women travelling, often alone, to access it. This type of injustice risks being repeated between England and Wales if Welsh politicians vote down assisted dying proposals – as then, people will need to travel to England to have the procedure on the NHS. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision are urging politicians to give terminally ill Welsh people the same options and choices that hundreds of thousands of dying people have around the world.

What is the Legislative Consent Motion (LCM)?

On Tuesday 20 January, members of the Senedd will vote on a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) relating to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

This vote is not about whether assisted dying should be legal in Wales. That decision to change the criminal law will already have been taken at Westminster under reserved powers, where 75% of Welsh MPs voted strongly in favour. Instead, the LCM will determine whether Wales should hold the powers to shape how the law is delivered for the people of Wales.

The LCM concerns a small number of clauses inserted into the Bill to ensure Wales can shape its own implementation of assisted dying. These include:

• Making sure people can give information, have assessments, and get reports in Welsh,
• Letting Welsh Ministers give guidance that fits the needs of Welsh communities,
• Allowing the Welsh Healthcare system (including NHS Wales) to provide assisted deaths,
• Making sure Wales is involved in checking the system and reporting on how it works.

Rejecting the LCM would therefore neither block the law, alter eligibility, nor delay implementation. It would only limit Welsh decision-making on how the law is delivered safely, consistently, and equitably in Wales.

What Happens If the LCM Is Rejected?

If the Senedd refuses consent, but the Bill passes in Westminster:

• The devolved implementation clauses will be removed.
• Assisted dying will still become lawful in Wales.
• Wales will lose the powers needed to build a public service-led, Wales-specific service.

Likely outcomes include:

• Only private firms deliver assisted dying services in Wales  for a fee;
• Welsh residents forced to travel to England for assessment and provision;
• No guarantee of Welsh-language access;
• No Wales-specific clinical guidance;
• No tailored oversight reflecting Welsh communities and health needs.

In effect, Wales would lose the ability to design a system rooted in Welsh values, geography, language, and healthcare structures, whilst still being subject to the change in criminal law.

For over 50 years, abortion was legal in England, Scotland, and Wales, but not in Ireland or Northern Ireland, leading to a quarter of a million women travelling, often alone, to access it. This type of injustice risks being repeated between England and Wales if Welsh politicians vote down assisted dying proposals – as then, people will need to travel to England to have the procedure on the NHS. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision are urging politicians to give terminally ill Welsh people the same options and choices that hundreds of thousands of dying people have around the world.

Who will be most affected: inequality and low incomes in Wales

Multiple reputable organisations, human-rights bodies and peer-reviewed researchers have documented how the abortion ban (and subsequent uneven implementation) in Northern Ireland disproportionately impacted people on low incomes, those living in remote areas, or socially vulnerable people.

Similarly, if assisted dying becomes available only through private providers or by travelling to England, people on lower incomes will face the greatest barriers. Wales has lower average household incomes than most of the UK and higher levels of poverty and long-term illness. 

Travel, accommodation, transport of medical equipment, and time away from carers or family impose costs that many households cannot meet. Those already facing financial hardship or in remote communities would be particularly affected.

Ensuring the Senedd retains implementation powers is vital for fairness. Without them, access to assisted dying for Welsh people risks becoming determined by wealth, health, and postcode, deepening existing inequalities. 

Welsh voices on assisted dying

74% of Welsh people support a change in the law. Support is broad-based across all major political parties.

Gemma Williams, from Carmarthenshire, has lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than 20 years. She supports the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and backs terminally ill people having a choice. She said:

‘As someone who has lived with MS for over twenty years, I know the importance of feeling safe, respected, and in control of my own care. The safeguards in the Terminally Ill Adults Bill are stronger than anything that exists today, and giving Wales the power to tailor how the law works will protect people like me, not endanger us. No one should be forced to travel, struggle, or suffer simply because they are ill or because they are Welsh. Choice is not a threat, it is dignity.’

Graham Winyard, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:

‘If the Senedd rejects these implementation powers, assisted dying will still become legal – but Wales will be left with a system designed elsewhere, for different communities and different needs. That outcome would entrench inequality and deny dying people fair access to a safe, well-regulated service. We urge Welsh politicians to learn from the mistakes of the past and ensure that, this time, no one is excluded by geography, language, or income when making the most personal decision of their lives.’

Notes

Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request

For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033. (media only)

Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.

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.

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The rate of debate on the Assisted Dying Bill has not progressed sufficiently for the Bill to pass, with only three groups of amendments, representing 50 amendments, debated today. While this is more than in the previous two debates, seven amendments on the first and 21 on the second, this still isn’t enough to cover the over 1,139 amendments tabled. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision are disappointed that a small group of peers are putting the Bill in jeopardy by tabling a large number of amendments, but also debating them too slowly for the Bill to pass.

This group of peers is also dominating the debate. In the three debates so far, a small number of opponents have made multiple long contributions, with Baroness Finlay of Llandaff speaking for almost a tenth of the entire debate (one hour six minutes). This is closely followed by Baroness Coffey (47 minutes), Lord Harper (39 minutes) and Baroness Lawlor (33 minutes). These calculations do not include interventions, where peers interrupt others, points of order, the Bill sponsor or the Health Minister. Conservative peers have spoken for 40% of the entire debate.

Lord Kennedy of Southwark, the chief Government whip, said at the end of the debate: ‘We have completed three groups of amendments, which is less than I hoped for… I think that all noble Lords need to reflect on that before we resume our considerations of this Bill next Friday.’

Analysis by Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision has shown that seven of the most vocal opponents to the Bill have put forward over 600 amendments between them. While some of the unworkable amendments have been withdrawn, such as Baroness Coffey’s proposal to ban applicants from going on holiday, others, such as the requirement that all applicants, including men, undergo a pregnancy test, remain. 

The Bill must pass all stages in the Lords and Commons before Spring 2026, or it fails. At the current rate of debate, it will not pass.

Dave Sowry, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:

‘It was Groundhog day in the House of Lords today. Despite a growing chorus of pleas to peers to stop putting barriers in the way of those seeking a compassionate death, the same very small group of peers ignored these pleas. It’s obvious that the concerted effort to block its progress by these peers, who are all against the Bill as a matter of principle, continues.’

‘They ignore the perspective of those the Bill is designed for, people at the end of their lives. Its aim is to improve the quality of those last weeks, and having accompanied my wife to Dignitas for an assisted death, I know how precious those weeks are.

‘The process must be as simple as possible for the vast majority of straightforward cases, whilst being robust and safe for the remaining tiny minority of complex cases. This small group of peers must not be allowed to undermine the will of Parliament and the hopes and wishes of the public.’

Notes

Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request

For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033. (media only)

Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.

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.

Update: Baroness Coffey has withdrawn this amendment. We hope it was in light of pressure about its cruel and unworkable nature.

 Original article presented below:

Liz Truss’s Health Secretary, Baroness Coffey, has proposed an amendment to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that would ban people from accessing assisted dying if they have left the country in the past twelve months. Some would find themselves ineligible due to trips before they even found out they were terminally ill. For most, this would essentially act as a ‘holiday ban’, meaning that anyone who wants to travel abroad for the last time, or visit family members abroad, would be barred from doing so. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision are disappointed that peers are proposing such ludicrous and cruel amendments to the Assisted Dying Bill and urge Baroness Coffey to withdraw this one.

Amendment 15 says that a person would only be eligible for an assisted death if they were ‘ordinarily resident in the UK for twelve months and has not left the UK in that twelve months. ’ This amendment would therefore bar anyone from applying for an assisted death if, in the 12 months ahead of the application, they had:

• Been on holiday
• Received a six-month terminal diagnosis having recently been abroad
• Left the country for any purpose, such as a bereavement, work or legal affairs
• Gone to visit a friend or family member in another country

53% of Brits take a holiday abroad in any given year, with 1.7 holidays per person (page 4). This means that the share of the population that would not be able to access assisted dying because, at the time of their diagnosis, they had holidayed in the previous year, would run into the tens of millions – maybe as high as 15-25 million.

People would also need to hope not to have a six-month terminal diagnosis in the autumn, because more people go on holiday in the summer than any other time of the year.

This amendment would also face practical difficulties, as it would require the doctor assessing the eligibility to have access to the patient’s travel history. 

This is just one of the 71 amendments that Baroness Coffey, former Health Secretary and a Conservative peer, has put forward to the Bill. Analysis by Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision has shown that seven of the most vocal opponents to the Bill have put forward over 600 amendments between them.

Peers have been accused of attempting to sabotage the Bill, essentially causing it to fail by proposing an unreasonable number of amendments and deliberately making unnecessary speeches in order to time it out. Analysis suggests it would take two decades to debate all the current amendments. 

The Bill must pass all parliamentary stages before Spring 2026, or it fails. The Government has just announced 12 further days of House of Lords time that will be set aside for it, in addition to the four days that have already occurred.

Louise Shackleton, who accompanied her husband to Dignitas in Switzerland for an assisted death, said:

‘As someone who had to go abroad with my husband to give him the compassionate, dignified death he wanted and deserved, I find this amendment shockingly cruel. People fall ill having recently been abroad, people want to fulfil their bucket list in their final months, and people want to say goodbye to their family in a different country. Dying people deserve compassion, not cruelty. 

‘I am concerned that this amendment is not in good faith. It won’t keep anyone safe, or even to encourage worthwhile debate. To me, this amendment is an attempt to further run down the clock and block the Bill through procedure. That’s wrong and it’s undemocratic to use technical tricks to shut down what most people in this country clearly want.’ 

Graham Winyard, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:

‘The mask is slipping, and a small group of peers who are claiming to add scrutiny are proposing amendments designed to slow down the process. This amendment provides no extra safety and is unnecessary and cruel. It adds absolutely no additional layer of safety for terminally ill people looking for a safeguarded, compassionate route to shorten their deaths and end their suffering on their own terms. ’

Notes

Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request

For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033. (media only)

Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.

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.

The Government has just announced 12 further days of House of Lords time that will be set aside for debating the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, in addition to the four days of debate that have already occurred. As a result of this, Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision have said it is time for Peers opposed to the Bill to stop using delaying tactics, known as filibustering, and instead get on and scrutinise it constructively.

So far, Peers have debated just 28 amendments to the Bill over two days. But many more than that number of amendments are being added every week. Last week, for example, 21 amendments were debated while 82 more were tabled.

In total well over 1,000 amendments have been tabled, with just seven of the Peers opposed to the Bill having tabled over 600 of those. Supporters have tabled just 87.

Unlike the House of Commons, the House of Lords does not usually have closure motions that force debates to end. Every amendment can be debated if a peer wishes for it to be, and any peer can speak to each amendment. Some opponent amendments are clearly nonsensical. For example, Baroness Coffey has put forward an amendment stating that a person can only have an assisted death if they have not left the UK in the past twelve months. This would prevent anyone who had recently been on holiday, or travelled to visit loved ones, from having an assisted death. The Bill is after all for those with six months or fewer to live.

Before the election, the Prime Minister pledged parliamentary time for assisted dying. He made the commitment when speaking with broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen. He told her: 

‘I’m personally in favour of changing the law… I think we need to make time. We will make the commitment. Esther, I can give you that commitment right now… I will make time available if I am Prime Minister.’

Welcoming today’s announcement in the Lords, its sponsoring Peer, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, said:

‘The right course now for all of us who are interested in this Bill, opponents or supporters, is to get together and agree the best way that we can use the remaining twelve days that we’ve got on the Bill.’

Humanists UK Director of Public Affairs and Policy Richy Thompson commented:

‘We welcome the Government giving these extra days to debate the Assisted Dying Bill. It is time for those Peers who have been filibustering the Bill to stop doing so. Attempts to talk it out will only serve to undermine the legitimacy of the House of Lords and the constructive scrutiny it can offer.’

Dave Sowry, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, commented:

‘Too many members of the House of Lords, who are fundamentally opposed to the Bill, have been trying to time it out. They claim to be doing so to “improve” it. But the sheer number and implausibility of some of the amendments makes clear this is disingenuous. With the extra days allocated for debate – that they have called for – there is absolutely no excuse for them to continue going as slowly as possible in order to frustrate progress.’

Notes

Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request

For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033. (media only)

Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.

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.