Critics of assisted dying law lay blame for Bill's failure on supporters who are refusing to fix 'massive flaws' in 'unsafe' legislation
A group of more than 50 peers have laid the blame for the failure of assisted dying legislation on its supporters who are refusing to fix 'massive flaws'.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill aims to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death.
But it is widely expected to fall as the House of Lords is set to run out of time to conclude its debates on the Bill before the current parliamentary session ends.
Those opposed to assisted dying have been accused of using 'procedural tactics' to block the Bill after more than 1,000 amendments were tabled in the upper chamber.
And supporters of the Bill have claimed there are 'loads' of backbench MPs who are willing to revive the legislation after the next parliamentary session begins on 13 May.
They have argued that if peers try to block the legislation, supporters could use the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1941 to bypass the upper chamber.
But, in a letter to all MPs, the cross-party group of peers urged the House of Commons not to 'force through' the Bill as it is currently drafted.
They expressed their concerns that campaigners 'now appear determined to force this Bill on to the statute book unamended'.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater (third from left) is pictured with other supporters of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill) outside Parliament earlier this month
Labour peer Luciana Berger, one of the signatories of the letter, said: 'The Bill will fall because supporters have refused to engage with its massive flaws.
'The Bill is unsafe and unworkable. None of the relevant medical Royal Colleges, professional groups, advocacy groups or even the Government's own ministers will say that the legislation is safe.
'It is a danger to the vulnerable and a huge risk to our NHS. Whatever MPs may think of the principle of assisted dying, it is clear that this Bill is not fit for purpose.
'No MP could in good conscience force it through and risk the massive damage it will inflict.'
A source close to Labour MPs and peers opposed to the Bill said: 'Supporters of the Bill aren't trying to improve the Bill.
'Out of over 700 amendments already considered in the Lords they've indicated they would accept only two. That's not scrutiny that is stonewalling.'
in a letter to all MPs, a cross-party group of peers has urged the House of Commons not to 'force through' the Bill as it is currently drafted
Among the other signatories of the letter were Conservative former attorney general Victoria Prentis, Labour peers Sue Gray, Marvin Rees and Paul Boateng, and former Northern Ireland first minister Arlene Foster.
They wrote: 'There remain significant issues around delegated powers, lethal substances, advertising, codes of practice, death investigations, notification requirements, independent advocates and cross-border issues.'
The assisted dying legislation was introduced to Parliament in October 2024 as a Private Members' Bill (PMB) by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.
But the peers warned that altering the law on assisted dying from the back benches as a PMB was the 'wrong vehicle for a change of this scale and sensitivity'.
They said: 'Where a PMB has been used for an issue of conscience in the past, it has been preceded by some type of pre-legislative scrutiny such as a commission.'
They added: 'It should concern the House of Commons that campaigners now appear determined to force this Bill on to the statute book unamended.
'That suggests they are less interested in making it safe than in getting it through, whatever the cost.
'We are deeply concerned that MPs will be asked to approve a Bill whose sponsor in the House of Lords is still rewriting major parts of it.
'The Commons should have the opportunity to consider material issues it has not yet examined and address the legitimate concerns of those professionals who would have to deliver it.'
Among their fears is that the Government might have to divert money from existing NHS budgets to fund assisted dying, and that doctors and nurses might be incentivised to prioritise cheap assisted deaths over palliative care.
Peers began their 13th day scrutinising the Bill line-by-line at committee stage on Friday, despite the expectation it will fall before the end of the current parliamentary session.
For the existing Bill to become law, it would need to clear further revising stages in the Lords before both Houses agree on its final wording, to be written in to the statue book.
When the next parliamentary session begins, MPs will be able to propose a new set of PMBs. A ballot is held to decide whose PMBs are debated first.
