Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2026 - Second Reading

Dear Constituent,

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill) presented by Lauren Edwards MP will be debated and voted on by MPs on Friday, 11 September 2026.

This is what’s known as the Second Reading of a Bill and, despite the name, it is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the main principles of the Bill. At the end of the debate, MPs will vote on whether the Bill should progress to the Committee Stage where changes can be made to wording, amendments considered and new clauses added.

The principle of the Bill, which MPs are asked to vote on, says: “Allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life”. MPs will not be subject to the party whip at any stage of the Bill and will vote according to their conscience.

After considerable thought and hours of scrutinising the previous Bill, introduced by Kim Leadbeater MP, which was stalled by Peers in the House of Lords and did not complete its passage through parliament before the end of the 2024-2026 session, I will be supporting the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill) at Second Reading.

It is important to be clear that this Bill would only apply to England and Wales. Healthcare and any legislation on assisted dying in Scotland are devolved matters for the Scottish Parliament to consider and my vote will not change the law in Scotland.

However, as a Member of the UK Parliament, I have a responsibility to consider and vote on legislation properly brought before the House of Commons, including legislation applying only to particular parts of the United Kingdom. My support at Second Reading reflects a personal view on the subject matter as well as a recognition that many of my constituents will have family and friends living in other parts of Britain who would be affected by this change in the law.

I appreciate the strength of feeling that exists on all sides of this debate, and I am grateful for the opportunity to explain why I support the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. I have received hundreds of pieces of correspondence from constituents on both sides of this discussion – many of which have moved me deeply.

For me, this is a greatly personal decision, informed in part by my own experience of losing my brother, David, to pancreatic cancer.

David was 52 years old when he received his diagnosis. He had worked a tough, physical job for three decades and was full of life. Over the course of 18 months, he fought hard to stay alive, taking part in drug trials and undergoing surgery. But eventually he lost the ability to walk, then speak and finally even to acknowledge those around him.

In one of our last conversations, David told me that if there were a pill he could take to end his life peacefully, he would want to take it.

Instead, he endured three more weeks of silent suffering. His strength, and the resilience of his wife who cared for him, will never leave me, but neither will the pain of seeing him suffer without a choice. I shared this story in the House of Commons during the debate for the previous Bill because I believe that personal agency and dignity at the end of life are matters we must take seriously.

At the same time, I recognise that many disabled people and organisations representing disabled people have profound concerns about assisted dying legislation, particularly around the possibility that people might feel pressure to choose an assisted death because of inadequate care, loneliness, poverty or a perception that they are a burden on others. These concerns deserve to be heard and considered carefully in the committee stage.

My support for the Bill is not based on a belief that any life is less valuable than another. On the contrary, I believe every person is entitled to dignity, support and protection, and that any assisted dying framework must be built around robust safeguards to ensure that decisions are genuinely voluntary and free from coercion. I also firmly believe that improving access to high-quality palliative care, healthcare and social care must remain a priority regardless of where people stand on assisted dying.

Crucially, assisted dying must never be treated as an alternative to high-quality palliative care and end-of-life care. A choice cannot be considered genuinely free if someone feels driven towards it because the care, pain relief or practical support they need is unavailable.

We must strengthen palliative and hospice care so that everyone facing a terminal illness can access compassionate, properly funded support, regardless of their income or where they live. Supporting the principle of this Bill does not lessen that responsibility, it makes ensuring meaningful choice and dignity at the end of life all the more important.

As with the previous Bill, I recognise that assisted dying is an issue of profound ethical importance on which reasonable people can and do disagree. It is therefore essential that Parliament continues to scrutinise these proposals rigorously and that the voices of patients, families, healthcare professionals, disabled people and their advocates and palliative care specialists are fully heard throughout the process.

Having considered these arguments carefully, I believe the Bill should be allowed to progress to that further detailed scrutiny. This is not an unqualified endorsement of every aspect of the Bill as currently drafted, and I will continue to consider the strength of its safeguards and the evidence presented as it progresses. However, I believe that terminally ill adults deserve dignity, compassion and meaningful choice at the end of their lives.