The Canadian government has announced that it will legislate to prevent a planned extension of Medical Assistance in Dying, known as MAID, to people whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness.

The change was due to take effect in March 2027. Instead, the government will keep this group excluded from eligibility after a parliamentary review of the issue. 

For My Death, My Decision, the decision further demonstrates that legalising assisted dying does not mean lawmakers lose control over how the law develops.

In countries where assisted dying has been introduced, legislation continues to be monitored, reviewed and regulated. Canada’s decision shows that legislators can examine difficult questions, decide where they believe the boundaries should sit and change course where they are not satisfied a proposed change is safe or workable.

Luke Costello, an Intensive Care Nurse and Board member of My Death, My Decision, was born and raised in Canada by his British mother. He now lives and works in the UK. His mother, who had metastatic cancer, chose an assisted death at home in Canada, surrounded by her family.

“I actually find this reassuring. I was born and raised in Canada, and my mum was able to have an assisted death there when she was dying from cancer. I now live and work as a nurse in the UK, so I’ve watched this debate from both sides.

Canada’s decision is incredibly reassuring to me. They haven’t treated assisted dying as something that, once introduced, is simply allowed to develop without question. Lawmakers have looked at the proposed extension to people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness and decided they are not satisfied it should go ahead.

My mum having the choice of an assisted death meant an enormous amount to her and to our family. I would never want fear about difficult cases to take that choice away from people like her. Supporting assisted dying does not mean saying every possible circumstance has to be treated in exactly the same way.

You can give people meaningful choice at the end of life without giving up the ability to be cautious, to draw boundaries and to change course when something does not feel ready.”

How does Canada’s assisted dying law work?

Canada first legalised MAID in 2016 following the Supreme Court of Canada’s Carter ruling. Its legal framework has since been reviewed and amended. 

Eligibility is not based simply on having an illness or disability.

To qualify, an adult must have decision-making capacity, make a voluntary request without external pressure and provide informed consent. They must also have what Canadian law calls a “grievous and irremediable medical condition”.

That means all of the following must apply:

• the person has a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability
• they are in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability
• they are experiencing enduring physical or psychological suffering that they find intolerable and that cannot be relieved in a way they consider acceptable

Since changes introduced in 2021, a person’s natural death does not have to be reasonably foreseeable to qualify, although additional safeguards apply in those cases.

People whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness have never been eligible under the current framework. The proposed introduction of eligibility for this group has been delayed several times as questions about assessment, safeguards, and readiness have been considered.

A different approach from the England and Wales Bill

The Canadian system differs significantly from the Terminally Ill Adults Bill recently debated in England and Wales.

That Bill would have limited eligibility to terminally ill adults expected to die within six months.

My Death, My Decision supported the Bill but has long argued that assisted dying should also be available to mentally competent adults who face intolerable suffering from incurable physical conditions.

Canada should not simply be treated as a model for the UK to copy, but its latest decision does demonstrate what we have long known: that assisted dying laws can have boundaries. Scrutiny is not simply abandoned, safeguards continue to be reviewed, and legislators can decide not to proceed with a proposed change where they are not satisfied it should go ahead.

That experience should inform any serious discussion about what safe, compassionate assisted dying reform could look like in England and Wales.

Notes to editors

My Death, My Decision campaigns for a change in the law to allow mentally competent adults facing constant and unbearable suffering from an incurable physical condition the legal right to a safe and compassionate assisted death, subject to robust safeguards.

Media enquiries:
kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk
07922 363248

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And in the final years of her own life, she did it again. After her terminal cancer diagnosis, Esther spoke with incredible honesty about her own death, the choices she wanted to have and why she believed other dying people deserved those choices too.

Esther became one of the most recognisable voices calling for a change in the law on assisted dying. After revealing in 2023 that she had joined Dignitas, she spoke openly about what that decision meant for her and her family, and about the possibility of having to travel to Switzerland to have the death she wanted.

She also used her voice to push for political change. She called for MPs to be given a free vote on assisted dying and, in 2024, secured a commitment from Keir Starmer that, if elected Prime Minister, he would make time for a vote in Parliament.

Esther continued to speak out as the Terminally Ill Adults Bill went through Parliament, sharing her own experience and urging MPs to give dying people greater choice. Her voice helped take a subject that can be incredibly difficult to talk about and bring it into homes across the country.

She didn’t have to share something so personal. But by doing so, she helped millions of people understand why this issue matters.

Esther’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox, who campaigned alongside her for a change in the law on assisted dying, paid a simple and moving tribute to her mum after her death, describing her as “our irreplaceable everything”.

Rebecca and her siblings Miriam and Joshua also spoke of their mother’s “endless capacity for joy” and said that her campaigning for children, older people and terminally ill people “meant the world to her”.

We will always be grateful to Esther for standing alongside us and for everything she gave to this campaign, right up until the end.

Thank you, Esther.

For further comment or information, media should contact Kerry Hogan at kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07922363248. (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 post Dame Esther Rantzen: a lifetime of standing up for others appeared first on My Death, My Decision.

Luke Costello, Intensive Care Nurse and Board member of My Death, My Decision, said:

“Andy Burnham is right that social care needs urgent reform, and I welcome his ambition for a National Care Service.

But as a nurse who routinely cares for dying patients, I know that even exemplary palliative care cannot relieve every person’s suffering. Better care matters enormously, but it is misleading to suggest that it removes the need for assisted dying.

One central argument against the Bill was that palliative and social care should be improved first. Andy Burnham made that case himself, and his lack of support helped drain momentum from the Bill at a crucial moment. The Bill has now fallen. If dying people were told they had to wait while care was fixed, then the government now needs to get on with fixing it.

We should absolutely strive for excellent palliative care and a social care system that works for everyone. But those things can and should sit alongside assisted dying. They are not alternatives. A National Care Service must not become another reason to postpone choice for people facing unbearable suffering at the end of their lives.” 

For Caroline Hearsey, who watched her mum Joan die from oesophageal cancer, Burnham’s promise of “hope” landed very differently after the assisted dying Bill fell.  

“Andy Burnham told the Labour conference that ‘hope comes from honesty’. For me, having watched my mum Joan die from oesophageal cancer, those words are difficult to hear.

The assisted dying Bill offered hope to people facing the end of their lives and to families like mine. Andy Burnham made clear that it was not a priority for his government and argued that palliative and social care needed improvement first. His position was widely reported as one reason support ebbed away when the Bill returned to Parliament. Now he is promising hope again through a National Care Service.

Of course I want better palliative and social care. But if improving care was the reason dying people were told they had to wait for greater choice, then his government now needs to get on with delivering it.

What I find so difficult is making one dependent on the other when nobody can say when palliative care will ever be ‘good enough’ everywhere. In the meantime, people are still suffering, and families are still being left without the choices they desperately want.

Andy Burnham says hope comes from honesty. I hope that honesty now includes recognising that better care cannot simply be used to put this debate off indefinitely.”

Of the 42 MPs who had previously voted Aye but had no vote recorded this time, 35 were Labour MPs. The Guardian reported that Burnham’s position gave some supportive but hesitant Labour MPs permission to stay away. The Bill was lost by just 16 votes.

Notes to editors

My Death, My Decision campaigns for a change in the law to allow mentally competent adults facing constant and unbearable suffering from an incurable physical condition the legal right to a safe and compassionate assisted death, subject to robust safeguards.

Media enquiries: kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk 07922 363248

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On Friday MPs voted against Lauren Edwards MP’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its second reading by a margin of just 16 votes. That was despite Kim Leadbeater’s almost identical Bill being passed by the House of Commons at its third reading in June 2025 by a margin of 23 votes, before it was blocked by the Lords. Friday’s vote has killed Lauren’s Bill — and with it, the latest chance to bring legal assisted dying to England and Wales.

It’s a devastating result for campaigners who have spent years fighting for this change, often as a result of difficult personal experiences with loved ones and many of whom travelled to Parliament Square on Friday for the vote. I wasn’t able to make it to London myself, but I am deeply disappointed in the outcome.

More unnecessary suffering

Palliative care is excellent, but even the best palliative care cannot relieve pain 100% of the time. Some people are allergic to opioids. Some of us will lose the ability to communicate pain as our disease progresses. Many of us will become incontinent, and that loss of dignity is its own source of suffering. The anxieties about and fear of what the end might look like takes a toll on the mental health of people like me, living with a terminal illness, in the time we have left.

A two-tier system for the dying

People with money, and the physical strength to travel, can go to Dignitas in Switzerland for a legal assisted death — even though most of them would rather do it in this country, surrounded by family. People without the money, or too ill to travel, are left with suicide as their only route to any control over the timing of their death. That is a worse, lonelier and more traumatic death, for them and for the people left behind.

A four-hour debate, on both sides of a deeply personal issue

More than 90 MPs wanted to speak. On both sides, many brought personal accounts of losing family members. Former Health Minister Ashley Dalton — herself living with a terminal cancer diagnosis — voted against the Bill, arguing that depression and suicidal thoughts are common immediately after a terminal diagnosis, and the Bill did not adequately screen for this.

I have huge respect for Ashley Dalton. But a stage four diagnosis doesn’t automatically mean someone has less than six months to live. Stage four cancer patients are living longer than ever, for years and some for decades. To me, her argument makes the case for properly funding psychological support for people with a new diagnosis — not for blocking assisted dying altogether. And having poor mental health after a diagnosis doesn’t mean someone lacks the mental capacity to make this decision – those are two different questions.

Surgeon and MP Dr Zubir Ahmed, who also voted against, argued that “six months to live” is an increasingly unreliable clinical marker given modern treatments. I agree — I was told I had “a few months” to live in June 2025. I’ve wondered how a six-month eligibility test could work fairly given how frequently people outlive their prognosis. But surely the timeframe test would never be based on statistical averages handed out at the point of diagnosis. It would be based on that individual’s own history of diagnosis and response to treatment, reassessed by multiple professionals throughout the process. And crucially, if an individual is certified as meeting the criteria for an assisted death – there would be zero obligation on that person to go through with it if their health improved unexpectedly or they simply just changed their mind.

Timing, not principle

What’s striking is that many of the MPs who voted against weren’t rejecting assisted dying in principle — they were objecting to the timing, process and detail. A lot of them believe social and palliative care need to be properly funded first, and see that investment as the most important safeguard against coercion. Others felt a change this significant should come through a Government Bill, not a private member’s Bill.

Coercion is a real and serious concern and I don’t dismiss it. But I think the Bill’s safeguards were sufficient. Jess Phillips MP, who has real authority on domestic abuse and coercive control, made a powerful case for the Bill on Friday. She pointed out that suicide already outstrips homicide as the leading cause of death for women experiencing domestic abuse and coercive control. In other words, coercion into death is happening under the status quo — we just don’t check for it until after someone is dead. The Bill would have checked for it at every stage of the process, before anyone was certified for an assisted death.

Palliative care: the one thing everyone agreed on

Whichever side they were on, almost every MP who spoke agreed that palliative care in this country is underfunded and inconsistent. They just disagreed about whether that should delay assisted dying, or run alongside it. I’ve written before about why I think it doesn’t need to wait. Even in defeat, two consecutive Bills — Kim Leadbeater’s and now Lauren Edwards’ — have put overdue political pressure and attention on palliative care funding. Whatever happens next, that’s a real legacy.

Why did the Commons flip?

An almost identical Bill, sponsored by Kim Leadbeater, passed the Commons in 2025, before the House of Lords blocked it earlier this year. So what changed?

Mostly, it wasn’t MPs switching sides. It was MPs who backed the Bill last time abstaining or not showing up on Friday. Why so many? I suspect at least some Labour MPs were mirroring new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s position — which has been fairly consistent over time: not against assisted dying in principle, but not willing to legislate for it before care funding is fixed.

That’s actually a big part of why I am hopeful that assisted dying will still eventually become law in England and Wales. Burnham has committed to fixing social and palliative care, and has said on record that assisted dying is a conversation for afterwards. Despite years of governments failing to grapple with NHS and social care reform, there’s a genuine sense of drive from him on this. Once palliative care has real investment behind it, Parliament will find it much harder to say no to assisted dying. Given that most of the public already supports a change in the law, there’s a real path here to a manifesto commitment for a government Bill at the next election, if Burnham delivers on care and wants to build on it.

Finally — my thanks to John Slinger MP, who had my words ready to read out in the debate on my behalf as a patient with a terminal diagnosis. He wasn’t called to speak. But he read them out in Parliament’s Central Lobby after the vote anyway, and I’m grateful to him for that.

The post How Parliament talked itself out of assisted dying and voted instead to prolong unnecessary suffering appeared first on My Death, My Decision.

Andrew Copson, Chief Executive at Humanists UK, said:

‘This vote provides not one extra penny for palliative care or disability support. On the contrary, it makes it less likely. And terminally ill people will still suffer, travel to Switzerland, and take their own lives in increasing numbers, while today’s inequalities continue. Where can we go from here? Those MPs who said they support assisted dying in principle but opposed this Bill should now look at the many working and compassionate assisted dying laws overseas and say exactly what they would support and the Government should facilitate this. Doing nothing is unacceptable.

‘This vote should never have happened. The Bill passed the Commons last year. Unelected peers, backed by well-funded religious lobbyists, have derailed a compassionate reform with overwhelming public support, and those groups will now be emboldened. The level of unprincipled misrepresentation in both briefings and the media is beyond anything I have ever seen and today is a dark day in the history of our Parliament and our democracy.’

Dave Sowry, Chair of My Death, My Decision, said:

‘This result is a travesty and desperately disappointing, first and foremost for terminally ill adults who were living in hope of having the choice to die peacefully and on their own terms. It also leaves the current unsafe and unequal status quo exactly as it is. Those who can afford to travel to Switzerland can do so, while those who cannot are left without that choice and may be forced to endure suffering they desperately wanted the option to avoid.

‘We’re grateful to Lauren Edwards for bravely bringing the Bill back. This is a huge setback, but support for change has remained high for decades and we will continue to fight for a compassionate law.’

Victoria Denning is a former headteacher, mother of two, and humanist celebrant living in Monmouth. She received a shock terminal diagnosis this year, and said:

‘I’m beyond devastated that MPs have voted down the Assisted Dying Bill. How is it possible that giving terminally ill people like me some agency and compassion at the very end of my life is too difficult for our politicians? The only reason this vote happened in the first place is because a small group of unelected Lords blocked the Bill – this is outrageous. 

‘Receiving the unexpected diagnosis of mesothelioma was devastating after having lived a very full, active, and adventurous life. Being told that I probably only have a year left to live made me realise that I have been very lucky until now. But I, like many other terminally ill people, would like to decide myself when I am ready, when I am in such pain and when I have tied up all the loose ends and said my goodbyes. Today, I’ve been denied that choice.’

Hannah Slater, a 38-year-old mother living with a terminal illness, said:

‘I’m devastated and angry. I came to Parliament and asked MPs to listen to people like me, because this is about real people who are running out of time. They ignored me. For politicians, there may be another vote. For people like me, there may not be another time. That is what makes this so hard to accept.’

Labour MP Claire Hazelgrove spoke powerfully about her mother’s own terminal illness:

‘Mum loved life and laughter, and our family will remember her this way. In early 2024, she was told her condition had taken a significant turn. That autumn, while we debated the initial version of this bill, Mum’s pain was excruciating. She had access to good palliative care. But what we learned, the hardest of ways, is that not all pain can be palliated. I will never forget seeing her writhing and screaming in pain – at points, for weeks – none of us will. And I know of no deity that would want that… For us, it will always be a tremendous personal sadness that the current law meant that she couldn’t tell us her plan, that we couldn’t say goodbye to her. But more importantly than that, that she couldn’t say goodbye at the end of her life, or be surrounded by her loved ones, which is what she would have wanted for her death. Instead, the harmful status quo meant that Mum died alone, with photos of us around her… This is the status quo, this needs to change.’

What happens next for assisted dying?

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has failed, and will progress no further. This does not diminish the overwhelming public support for this change, nor the 20 people who die in pain every day despite excellent palliative care. 

It is incredibly likely that further attempts to change the law will come forward in the future, either through a Private Member’s Bill or through other routes. 

Jersey and the Isle of Man have both legalised assisted dying, so some UK citizens will have access to choice at the end of life as early as 2027.

Notes:

For further comment or information, media should contact:

• Humanists UK Head of Press and Campaign Communications Nathan Stilwell at press@humanists.uk or phone 0203 675 0959 (media only).
• My Death, My Decision Campaign and Communications Manager Kerry Hogan kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07922 363248

Humanists UK is making the following photos available to the media to use – credit to Simona Sermont/Humanists UK – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision have people and their loved ones who would be affected by this change available for the press.

If you have been affected by the current assisted dying legislation, and want to use your story to support a change in the law, please email campaigns@humanists.uk.

Humanists defend the right of each individual to live by their own personal values, and the freedom to make decisions about their own life so long as this does not result in harm to others. Humanists do not share the attitudes to death and dying held by some religious believers, in particular that the manner and time of death are for a deity to decide, and that interference in the course of nature is unacceptable. We firmly uphold the right to life but we recognise that this right carries with it the right of each individual to make their own judgement about whether their life should be prolonged in the face of pointless suffering.

We recognise that any assisted dying law must contain strong safeguards and the international evidence from countries where assisted dying is legal shows that safeguards can be effective. We also believe that the choice of assisted dying should not be considered an alternative to palliative care, but should be offered together as in many other countries.

Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.

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.

Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision are both members of the Assisted Dying Coalition, along with Friends at the End, Humanist Society Scotland, and End of Life Choices Jersey.

The post Assisted Dying Bill fails – A dark day for democracy appeared first on My Death, My Decision.

Jane Brown has agreed to tell the story of her brother Colin’s illness and death and the effect this has had on her, to highlight the need for a compassionate law that allows people like Colin the choice of dying with dignity at the time and place of their choosing.

Colin Mutimer died on 24th June 2025 aged 65.

Jane was with Colin for the last weeks of his life and witnessed the terrible suffering he experienced at first hand. Having been a police officer for decades she was used to witnessing death but what Colin went through has had a deep & profound effect on her.

Jane describes Colin as an independent, gregarious, complex, deep thinking, and  un-selfish man. He played percussion in a band for 40 years, tap danced and was a talented poet who published a book of poetry and decided to donate the proceeds to the Marie Curie charity. He  spent time in his beloved allotment which he crafted into beauty from dereliction. Here, his many friends gathered and chatted and contemplated life. His happy place. 

He was much liked in the diverse community he lived in. They installed a bench in his memory in the communal area outside the flats with an inscription of lines of his poetry: 

Lean on me today, 

There is no better solace, 

Shall blow your tired away.

In 2000 Colin was diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2018 he had a cancerous kidney removed. Over the following years cancers were discovered in more & more places resulting in, amongst other things, a series of operations to  insert metal rods in his arm and leg.

In 2023 after much research, he decided to refuse immunotherapy as it would have badly affected his quality of life. He continued playing in his band, swimming and working in his allotment for as long as he could. He was still playing the spoons and singing, and was swimming with Jane, 25 meters underwater, in January 2025.

A long period of decline culminated in March 2025 when Colin had 3 weeks in severe pain at home and was admitted to the Marsden hospital where he had exemplary treatment and was always extremely grateful for the money, time and effort they spent with him. His cancer was found to have aggressively spread even more widely. On the 12th May he was told he had less than 6 months to live and he decided to refuse further treatment. On 15th this was changed to weeks. On the 18th his arm broke due to the bone cancer. Nothing could be done about it. By now he can’t feed himself, walk or toilet himself or use his phone to have contact with the outside world. He wouldn’t let anyone see him apart from Jane, her husband and one friend. So sad for a man so sociable. He cut off all contact as he was so distraught. He felt desolate and in despair. He was in constant discomfort.

Jane says “Colin’s decision not to have further treatment had given him much angst over the past year. He’d researched a lot, including many conversations with the specialists at the Marsden. It was NOT & I stress NOT, a decision taken lightly in any respect. I remember him asking “will it make me stronger than I am today?”, the answer was no, just longer.” 

His last weeks were full of agitation, fear, anxiety and pain. All through this time Jane stayed with him to provide support even if that was just to hold his hand. At one point he said to her: “I’m in despair, I want the day to come”. Jane asked him whether he meant “the day to die” and he replied “Yes”.

Colin’s last couple of days were awful. Jane asked if he was scared. He said “Yes”.

Jane’s last words to Colin were “Go now to Mum & Dad”.

A few weeks before he died Jane told her brother that she was going to a demonstration outside Parliament in support of the Assisted Dying bill. By then he was unable to speak but gave her a thumbs up sign.

During his illness Colin said “You can’t take me to the vet” which Jane feels was his way of pointing out how we treat our pets better than we do people.

Jane says Colin wanted the option of choosing when he had had enough. He would have chosen assisted dying as an option in his last days if the choice was available to him. He just wanted to live life while he could, but he ended up repeatedly saying “Oh man, oh man, what can we do?”. 

Jane says “Colin paved the way for me to carry on without him. He knew he wasn’t going to be here forever. I miss our daily chats about life and he always encouraged self care, saying it over & over & over to me. I just miss my big, clever, quirky brother every day. He had strength, tenacity and resilience in abundance. So so so sad it had to end the way it did.”

Notes to editors
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 Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, sponsored by Lauren Edwards MP, is due to receive its Second Reading on Friday 11 September 2026.

The previous Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its Second Reading in November 2024 by 330 votes to 275. It completed its Commons stages in June 2025 but did not complete its passage through the House of Lords before the end of the parliamentary session.

Jane Brown and representatives from My Death, My Decision are available for interview.

Media enquiries:
Kerry Hogan
kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk
07922 363248

The post My brother died distraught, desolate and in despair – now MPs must back assisted dying appeared first on My Death, My Decision.

Hannah, 38, has terminal cancer and a three-year-old son. She spoke to MPs at an event organised by My Death, My Decision and Humanists UK in Parliament on Wednesday, 2 September.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill returns to the House of Commons for its Second Reading on Friday 11 September. MPs have been asked to consider the legislation twice, after the previous Bill passed through the Commons but did not pass through the House of Lords because it was filibustered.

Hannah wants as much time as possible with her son. But she has also spoken openly about wanting the choice of an assisted death if, towards the end of her life, her suffering becomes unbearable.

Hannah said:

“My son is at that age where memories are just starting to form, and my greatest wish is that he will remember me. But I don’t want his last memory of me to be a stranger in a bed, fading away. I want to live, and I want every bit of time I can have with my little boy. But I also know what my illness could take from me.

I came to Parliament because, for people like me, this isn’t a debate we can just come back to in a few years. We don’t have that time.

I may not live to see another assisted dying Bill come before Parliament. MPs have another chance on 11 September, and I’m asking them to think about the people who are not being protected by the current law.”

Hannah met MPs alongside Lauren Edwards MP, who has reintroduced the Bill, Professor Lord Norton of Louth, Baroness Gerada, former President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, and Lizzi Collinge MP, who sponsored the event.

Rugby MP John Slinger responded to hearing from Hannah today:

“Hearing from Hannah today was incredibly moving. She is immensely brave. On 11 September, members of the House of Commons need to hear the testimony of people like Hannah. No one can say it more clearly or remind MPs more powerfully why we need to pass this Bill and I will personally bring her voice into the chamber of the commons”

The drop-in gave MPs the chance to ask questions about the Bill, what happened during its previous passage through Parliament and what could happen if it passes the Commons again.

The previous Terminally Ill Adults Bill passed every stage in the House of Commons but did not complete its passage through the House of Lords before the parliamentary session ended.

Lauren Edwards MP reintroduced the legislation after securing second place in the Private Members’ Bill ballot earlier this year, taking forward what remained unfinished business from the previous Parliament.

Dave Sowry, Chair of My Death, My Decision, said:

“Hannah shouldn’t have to spend the time she has left coming to Parliament and pleading with politicians to listen. But she has, because this matters enormously to her and to many other terminally ill people.

The Commons backed this legislation before, and the public have made it clear that they support a change in the law. On 11 September, we urge MPs show up and vote in favor of this Bill so that this important issue can finally be answered.”

Notes to editors
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 Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, sponsored by Lauren Edwards MP, is due to receive its Second Reading on Friday 11 September 2026.

The previous Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its Second Reading in November 2024 by 330 votes to 275. It completed its Commons stages in June 2025 but did not complete its passage through the House of Lords before the end of the parliamentary session.

Hannah Slater and representatives from My Death, My Decision are available for interview.

Media enquiries:
Kerry Hogan
kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk
07922 363248

The post “I may not live to see another Bill”: terminally ill mum urges MPs to back assisted dying appeared first on My Death, My Decision.

The post Join us outside Parliament on Second Reading appeared first on My Death, My Decision.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that social care and palliative care should be properly funded and reformed before assisted dying legislation is introduced.

Mr Burnham has previously expressed support for the principle of assisted dying, saying in 2024 that family experiences had changed his view and convinced him that people and their families are too often allowed to suffer.

While making clear that he was not opposed to a debate on assisted dying, Mr Burnham argued that people should first have confidence that high-quality care will be available to them at the end of life.

His comments come ahead of the Second Reading of Lauren Edwards MP’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday 11 September 2026.

The Bill would allow terminally ill adults, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and receive assistance to end their own lives.

My Death, My Decision agrees that palliative and social care urgently need greater investment. However, improving care must not become a condition that has to be met before Parliament can consider the separate question of assisted dying.

Good palliative care can relieve pain and many other symptoms, while social care can help people live with greater comfort, independence and dignity. But neither can remove every form of suffering or provide every dying person with the control and reassurance they may need.

Better care and greater choice are not competing alternatives. A compassionate society should provide both.

Hannah Slater: “Remember who this law is for”

Hannah Slater, 38, has terminal cancer and a three-year-old son. Earlier this year, she was told she may have only months to live.

She said:

“I would ask Andy Burnham to remember who this law is for.

It is for terminally ill people like me, who are not asking for less care, but for the reassurance that we will have a choice if our suffering becomes unbearable.

I have already lost the sight in my left eye, and I am frightened of losing my independence, my ability to communicate and everything that makes me feel like me.

Of course palliative and social care need greater investment, but that cannot be used as a reason to make dying people wait. I do not have endless time for politics to catch up.”

Care and choice address different needs

Dr Richard Osborne, a board member of My Death, My Decision, spent 30 years as a consultant medical oncologist and cared for almost 10,000 patients, most of whom had metastatic, incurable cancer.

His clinical experience reflects a central truth in this debate: even excellent care cannot relieve every symptom or every form of suffering.

Palliative care, social care and assisted dying are not interchangeable. They respond to different needs and should exist alongside one another as part of a compassionate approach to the end of life.

Successive governments have been promising to reform social care for decades. Terminally ill people should not be told that their right to be heard must wait indefinitely for politicians to solve a separate and longstanding crisis.

Dave Sowry: “Dying people deserve both”

Dave Sowry’s wife, Christy, lived with multiple sclerosis and travelled to Dignitas in 2022 because the choice of an assisted death was not legally available to her at home.

Dave said:

“I spent years caring for my wife, so I do not need convincing of the importance of properly funded social care. I also know that good care, however compassionate, cannot answer every fear or relieve every form of suffering.

Social care helps people live well. Palliative care helps manage symptoms at the end of life. Assisted dying addresses a different and very specific question: whether a mentally competent, terminally ill adult should be forced to endure suffering they find unbearable when death is already approaching.

Presenting these as alternatives misunderstands what dying people and their families are asking for. We need better care, but we also need honesty about its limits. Funding one should never be made a condition of debating the other.”

The previous Terminally Ill Adults Bill passed through the House of Commons but ran out of parliamentary time in the House of Lords.

Lauren Edwards, the Labour MP for Rochester and Strood, secured second place in the private members’ bill ballot and has now reintroduced the legislation. Its Second Reading is scheduled for 11 September.

My Death, My Decision is calling on the Government to respect the parliamentary process and allow MPs a free and properly informed debate.

Terminally ill people cannot put their lives on hold while they wait for a perfect care system. They deserve excellent care, protection under the law and the right to have their voices heard.

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Today, in his first speech outside Downing Street, the Prime Minister began setting out his Government’s legislative priorities. There is speculation that this could be followed by an early King’s Speech to set out the Government’s programme. There is also speculation that the Government could seek an early general election. Either scenario could leave insufficient time for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, now reintroduced by Lauren Edwards MP, to complete its remaining parliamentary stages as a Private Member’s Bill.

Before becoming Prime Minister, Mr Burnham said in an interview with BBC Radio Manchester that he would support assisted dying legislation, despite having abstained when Parliament last considered the issue in 2015. He said his change of view was shaped by personal family experience, while emphasising the continued importance of high-quality hospice and palliative care.

The appointment of Yvette Cooper as Health Secretary also means the department responsible for implementing the legislation will be led by an MP who voted for the Bill at Third Reading. She is joined by several other senior Cabinet ministers who backed the legislation, including Chancellor John Healey, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and First Secretary of State Louise Haigh. Alex Norris, who is the new Justice Minister, also voted for the Terminally Ill Adults Bill at Third Reading. The new Government has an opportunity to provide the political support needed to help the Bill complete its passage through Parliament.

Dave Sowry, Chair of My Death, My Decision, said:

“We warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s support for assisted dying. His Government now has a real opportunity to help deliver a reform backed by the public and already approved by the elected House of Commons.

The Terminally Ill Adults Bill has been examined in exceptional detail. What matters now is that it is given a fair opportunity to complete its passage through Parliament.

For terminally ill people and their families, this is so much more than political debate. It is about having greater choice, dignity and control at the end of life. We hope the Prime Minister will work with parliamentarians across the House to help make that change a reality.”

The Bill is due to return to the House of Commons for Second Reading on Friday 11 September. My Death, My Decision said it will continue working with parliamentarians from across the House to ensure the legislation has the opportunity to complete its passage.

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 Kerry Hogan at kerry.hogan@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07922363248. (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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