Time runs out for assisted dying bill for England and Wales
[April 25, 2026]
By PAN PYLAS
LONDON (AP) — A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England
and Wales to choose to end their lives failed Friday as parliamentary
time ran out following an effective filibuster by unelected lawmakers in
the revising chamber that blocked the will of elected members.
Though the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the
House of Commons last June, the House of Lords talked it out since then,
stoking widespread criticism that it had overstepped the mark.
Proponents of what has been termed “ assisted dying ” — sometimes
referred to as “assisted suicide” — hoped it would mark the biggest
change to social policy in the U.K. since abortion was partially
legalized in 1967. The intention was to put an end to the practice of
those near the end of their lives from going to other countries, such as
Switzerland, for an assisted death.
The bill had proposed allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer
than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the
approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
But opponents in the House of Lords managed to hold up its passing by
filing more than 1,200 amendments on a range of concerns, including the
potential coercion of vulnerable people and a lack of safeguards for
those with disabilities.
”The House of Lords scrutiny exposed this bill as ‘skeleton legislation’
riddled with gaping holes,” said Gordon Macdonald from the Care Not
Killing campaign group which is opposed to a change in the law. “It is
now clear that this bill was both unsafe and unworkable.”
The number of amendments is believed to be a record high for a piece of
legislation that was brought forward by a backbencher rather than by the
government. These so-called private members' bills can only be debated
on a Friday as the government largely controls the rest of the
parliamentary timetable, thereby limiting the time available.
Campaigners for assisted dying expressed their anger at the sight of
unelected lawmakers holding up the will of the elected chamber. They
have insisted that they intend to bring the bill back in the next
parliamentary session, which begins after King Charles III outlines the
government's upcoming program in a speech to both houses of Parliament
on May 13.
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Campaigners hold a banner outside parliament in London as a proposed
law to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales will run out of
time on Friday, more than a year after MPs first voted in favour of
it, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
 The sponsor of the bill in the House
of Lords, Charlie Falconer, said he felt “despondent” that a piece
of legislation “so important to so many, has not failed on its
merits, but failed as a result of procedural wrangling."
“Much more than letting ourselves down are the very many people who
support the bill and who feel we have not treated them properly,” he
said.
Lawmaker Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the Bill to the House of
Commons in late 2024, said she was “trying to stay positive” while
admitting “a real sense of sadness and sorrow today.”
She said there “will absolutely be appetite" within the Commons to
bring the legislation back in the next session of parliament.
Last month, lawmakers in the Scottish Parliament rejected their own
assisted dying legislation. Scotland has a semiautonomous government
that has authority over many areas of policy, including health.
Assisted suicide — where patients take a lethal drink prescribed by
a doctor — is legal in countries including Australia, Belgium,
Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain,
Switzerland and parts of the U.S., with regulations on qualifying
criteria varying by jurisdiction.
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