Dozens of MPs Call for More Time to Scrutinise Assisted Suicide Bill Days Ahead of Major Vote

Hundreds of student doctors from universities across the UK have also voiced their opposition to the bill.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater at a press conference at the Houses of Parliament to discuss the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in Westminster, London, on April 2, 2025. Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

Dozens of MPs have written to Commons Leader Lucy Powell asking for the vote on assisted suicide to be delayed to give lawmakers more time to scrutinise the bill.

The letter sent on Sunday and shared on social media platform X was signed by 53 MPs who criticised the lack of time that members have had to debate amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

According to the cross-party group of MPs, only 12 of 133 amendments tabled have had a vote, and just 14 percent of MPs have had a chance to speak on the bill.

MPs say that when they arrive at Westminster on Friday for the bill’s Third Reading, they will not have had sight of the full, final version of it, adding that the bill has “radically changed” since it was presented to lawmakers last year.

The Private Member’s Bill (PMB) sponsored by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater would change the law in England and Wales, allowing terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live the ability to apply for a medically-assisted death.

It passed at Second Reading on Nov. 29, 2024, with a majority of 55 votes.

A number of high-profile figures in the Commons have said they will vote against the bill, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey MP.

‘Not a Normal Bill’

The MPs wrote to the Commons leader: “On Friday, Members will debate and vote on perhaps the most consequential piece of legislation that has appeared before the House in generations.

“This is not a normal Bill. It alters the foundations of our NHS, the relationship between doctor and patients, and it strips away power from Parliament, concentrating it in the hands of future Secretaries of State for Health.”

Terminally ill people, affected families, and campaigners for a change in the law on assisted suicide gather outside the Palace of Westminster ahead of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill's report stage in London, on May 16, 2025. Lucy North/PA Wire

Members raised the issue of how trying to pass this kind of legislation through PMBs “has shown itself to be a woefully inadequate vehicle for the introduction of such a foundational change to our NHS and the relationship between doctor and patient.”

They added that the bill has created concern among the medical profession and charities, and that the government and MPs “should listen to their expertise.”

In response to the calls, a government spokesperson said: “This Bill has been brought as a Private Members’ Bill. The amount of time for debate is therefore a matter for the House.”

Student Medics Voice Opposition

Separately on Monday, hundreds of student doctors from universities across the UK voiced their opposition to the bill.

They said: “We do not oppose dignified death—far from it.

“We oppose a Bill that risks offering death in place of care, that widens health inequalities, that places vulnerable patients in danger, and that reshapes the ethical foundation that our profession is built upon without any clear support.”

People take part in a demonstration to oppose the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Old Palace Yard in Westminster, London, on Nov. 29, 2024. Yui Mok/PA Wire

Similarly last week, around 1,000 doctors co-signed a letter urging MPs to vote against this “deeply flawed” bill which they said was unsafe.

In the months leading up to this next major vote, some prominent medical groups that are neutral on the issue of assisted suicide have either raised concerns or declared their objection to Leadbeater’s bill.

On May 14, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) said it cannot support the bill, owing to there being “too many unanswered questions” about the safeguarding of people with mental illness.

The following day, the Royal College of Physicians raised its own reservations about the risks of the bill “failing to protect vulnerable patients.” The Royal College of GPs has also said it has concerns about the bill that need to be addressed.

Mixed Opinion Among Medical Professionals

However, opinion across these groups varies. Last week, several RCPsych members, including a former college president and vice president, distanced themselves from their body’s statement and wrote to MPs expressing their support for the bill.

They described Leadbeater’s bill as “workable, safe and compassionate” with a “clear and transparent legal framework,” which they argued is “far preferable to the unjust status quo, where we know dying people seek to exercise choice at the end of life, but without any upfront safeguards, routine oversight or support from relevant clinicians.”

A number of MPs in the House of Commons who are GPs also back the bill, including Dr. Simon Opher.

On Monday, Opher said it was “no surprise that medical students, like GPs and most other professionals, have a range of opinions on assisted dying.”

PA Media contributed to this report.