MP Kim Leadbeater has brought a private member’s bill before the UK Parliament to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill patients (see Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill for the full text and details of the bill). This was passed at its second reading on 29 November 2024 by 330 votes to 275. It now goes forward to the committee stage and further scrutiny and revisions before final votes will potentially pass it into law in the spring of 2025. CMF, among others, will continue to campaign for this Bill to be voted down at the next reading.
- CMF has been engaged in the debate around the legalisation of some form of assisted suicide or euthanasia (euphemistically lumped together as ‘assisted dying’ by some) for many years. Our blog archive has details of this and many other related issues.
- A good summary of the issues is to be found in Rick Thomas’ CMF file on assisted suicide.
- CMF’s ‘Finger on the Pulse’ podcast of 30 October 2024 delves into more depth about the issues surrounding the Leadbeater Bill