Peers prepare to oppose abortion and assisted dying bills in House of Lords

Lord Alton of Liverpool has pledged to lead opposition in the House of Lords against two controversial Bills on abortion and assisted suicide, recently passed by MPs.

Writing in The Conservative Woman (21 July), Lord Alton described the developments as a “determined onslaught against human life at its most vulnerable moments”.

The abortion amendment, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, passed the Commons with a majority of 242 after just 46 minutes of debate. The clause permits abortion at home for any reason, even up to full term, without legal restriction.

A few days later, the Commons also approved the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, tabled by Kim Leadbeater MP, by a narrower margin.

Lord Alton, a long-standing pro-life advocate, said, “In an abortion a life is ended but both lives matter: the woman’s and the child’s.”

He argued that the abortion amendment ignores ethical and scientific concerns and described its passage with minimal scrutiny as “deeply irresponsible”.

On assisted suicide, he warned it risks becoming routine, citing evidence from other countries. “A fabricated ‘right to die’ becomes a duty to die,” he said, adding that vulnerable people—especially the elderly, disabled and mentally ill—could face subtle pressure to end their lives.

The assisted suicide Bill now heads to the Lords for its Second Reading on 12 September.

Lord Alton noted it will face strong opposition from a number of prominent peers, including Baroness Grey-Thompson, the former Paralympian athlete; Baroness Finlay, Professor of Palliative Medicine and a past president of the British Medical Association; Baroness Hollins, former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and former Prime Minister Theresa May.

Many peers, he said, are alarmed by the lack of safeguards and the ethical dilemma posed to doctors. “The clue is in the word ‘assisted’. It overturns centuries of principle that a physician must first do no harm.”

He added that a growing number of people—including those who previously identified as pro-choice—are speaking out against the extremity of the abortion amendment.

"We owe it to those endangered by these decisions to battle on,” Lord Alton concluded.

“Now is not the time for pro-life advocates to wave the white flag. Quite the reverse. Never before have the vulnerable and the voiceless been so under threat in this country."