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 is currently at the committee stage for further scrutiny and revisions before final votes are taken. We anticipate the third reading will occur in the Commons on 25 April or sometime in May. It will potentially pass it into law in the spring or summer of 2025 if it passes the third reading.

CMF, among others, will continue to campaign for this Bill to be voted down at the next reading. If you share our concerns, please look at the resources below to help you engage your MP and raise concerns in your professional body and/or Royal College.

• Salting the Slippery Slope is a new four-session course designed to help you understand the issues and respond practically.
• Protecting Patients from Assisted Suicide is a new resource to help you marshall the arguments against the Bill when talking to your MP. It was jointly produced with the Christian Institute.
• 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
• Call for Evidence from the Bill Scrutiny Committee – a guide to participation.

How to share your concerns about the current assisted suicide Bill with your MP

Many Christians are considering how to respond to Kim Leadbeater’s Bill in Westminster that seeks to legalise assisted suicide. Dr David Randall has been campaigning against assisted suicide legislation for some time alongside his work as a consultant physician. Here, he shares some wisdom on how we can share our concerns with our MPs and what sort of things we might want to consider saying. This video may be useful to watch yourself or with others, such as at a Church service, prayer meeting, midweek meeting or small group. You can find your MP’s contact details using https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

A Christian response to the current assisted suicide Bill in Westminster

 Prof John Wyatt has many years of experience speaking and writing about ethics, including at the end of life.  Here, he shares biblical principles that lead us to how Christians can respond to the current Assisted Suicide Bill in Westminster.  This video may be useful to watch yourself or with others, such as at a Church service, prayer meeting, midweek meeting or small group.