Assisted Suicide Bill passes by 314-291

Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has passed at Third Reading by 314-291. The Bill will allow anyone over the age of 18 who has received a terminal diagnosis of 6 months or less and who has mental capacity, to be prescribed lethal drugs to end their lives.

It now passes to the Lords (where it is, humanly speaking, almost inevitable that it will pass through), and is likely to receive Royal Assent in the next few months. Assisted suicide will become an available service on the NHS in 2029.

Earlier in the day, Report Stage concluded with votes on amendments; again, most amendments were not selected to be voted on. The noteworthy developments included:

• Amendment 14 was accepted on the nod: this ban Assisted Suicide in cases where people had voluntarily stopped eating and drinking, but does not close the anorexia loophole (as this is involuntary).

• Amendment 94 passed by 274-224: last year the Welsh Sennedd voted to reject the introduction of Assisted Suicide. This amendment means that Welsh devolution will now be overridden.

• Most shockingly of all, Amendment NC16 was defeated by 261-208. This amendment would have meant that people who met the 6-month prognosis criterion would not be able to access Assisted Suicide if any of the following played a major part in their decision:

  • Feeling like a burden

  • Mental illness (including depression)

  • Disability

  • Financial considerations

  • Lack of access to treatment

  • A desire to commit suicide

The margin of victory at 3rd Reading was less than half what it was at second reading, when MPs backed the 2nd Reading by 330-275. A number of MPs were known to have changed their mind in advance of the debate, including several Labour and Lib Dem MPs.

A voting breakdown by party can be found here:

• Labour MPs supported the Bill by 224-160

• Conservative MPs opposed the Bill by 92-20

• Lib Dem MPs supported the Bill by 56-15

• DUP MPs opposed the Bill by 5-0

• Reform MPs opposed the Bill by 3-2

• Plaid Cymru MPs supported the Bill by 3-1

• Green MPs supported the Bill by 4-0

• Independent MPs opposed the Bill by 12-3

• The sole representatives from the Alliance Party, TUV, and UUP all opposed the Bill. One SDLP MP supported the Bill, and the other abstained.

• There were 43 abstentions in total: some of these are conventional (such as the Speaker, and Sinn Fein, and for this Bill, the SNP). Others were deliberate.

A full voting breakdown can be found here.

A number of powerful speeches were made opposing the Bill. We reproduce some quotes below:

Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington:

“I came to this house to be a voice for the voiceless…who could be more voiceless than somebody who is in their sickbed and believes they are dying?

I ask members in this debate to speak up for the voiceless one more time, because there is no doubt that if this bill is passed in its current form, people will lose their lives who do not lead to, and they will be amongst the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.”

Florence Eshalomi, Labour and Co-op MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green:

“One question we parliamentarians need to ask ourselves is this: how is it right that some communities are denied basic healthcare within the current system; how is it right that some communities do not have access to good palliative care; how is it right that some communities still mistrust the medical profession; and how is it right that we are not listening to their voices?”

Gavin Robinson, DUP MP for Belfast East:

“To the socialists in this Chamber, I say: you speak proudly of the values of the NHS and the values of welfare, and you want to stand up for those principles, so think about what you do today. To the internationalists, I say: it is not in your tradition to turn the other cheek or walk on the other side of the road. You do not turn your back on the weak and the vulnerable, the oppressed and the burdened, so please do not do it today. This Bill and your say on it will be final, but it will be final in a much more fundamental way for our constituents and our loved ones throughout this United Kingdom. I ask you to approach this Bill and your perspective on it on the basis of your principles alone.”

Vicky Foxcroft, Labour MP for Lewisham:

“I have not always been opposed to assisted dying. Indeed, in 2015, I voted in favour of the Bill put forward by Rob Marris MP, but that was before I served four years as shadow Minister for disabled people. During that time, I spoke to hundreds of disabled people and the organisations that support them. They were, and remain, extremely fearful of assisted dying.

I took on that role at the start of the covid pandemic. Disabled people were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Nearly six in every 10 people who died were disabled. Many had “do not resuscitate” notices unilaterally pasted on their medical records, without them being informed. It made them fear for their lives. It made them fear that the authorities thought that their lives were worth less. It also made them fearful of what would happen if assisted dying was brought forward. That is why Disability Rights UK and other disabled people’s organisations have moved from the neutral position they had in 2015 to a position of opposition now.

I do not claim that every disabled person opposes assisted dying, but I do claim that the vast majority of disabled people and their organisations oppose it. They need the health and social care system fixing first. They want us as parliamentarians to assist them to live, not to die.”

Jen Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock:

“I know from my own experience that the value our medical establishment places on certain lives is less than on others. When I was given the diagnosis of my daughter’s Down’s syndrome, the first thing the midwife said to me after, “I’m so sorry,” was, “I can book you a termination within 48 hours.” That is a choice that so many women make because they are ignorant of the value of disabled lives. I have had to fight for so many things for my daughter, because the establishment does not see her life as valuable. In this country, someone can terminate a pregnancy up to 39 weeks and six days if they have a condition that is so horrific, such as Down’s syndrome, cleft palate or limb difference, because of the value we place on different lives.

I support the principle of assisted dying, yes, but I cannot support this Bill because we cannot legislate against discrimination and we cannot legislate out inherent bias.”

Tom Tugendhat, Conservative MP for Tonbridge:

“Members have a real choice today. When that first 18 or 19-year-old—that first individual—goes and asks for this, it will be we who made that decision. It will be on our consciences. It will be a decision that has fundamentally changed the relationship between the individual and the state in a way that can never be reversed.”

Jess Asato, Labour MP for Lowestoft:

“As a Labour MP, I reflected on why I joined the Labour party. It was because of our commitment to protecting the vulnerable and fighting for equality, suspicious of individualism and narrow notions of choice that turn a blind eye to the impact of that choice on others.

If I could legislate to create a Bill just for me, I would be tempted by these measures, but I believe my role as an MP is to legislate in the best interests of those who have no voice, whose choices are often limited by poverty, the patriarchy, racism, trauma, ill health, and state and societal failure.”