Campaign for assisted dying
Life is precious. But when you can only feel pain, and your suffering cannot be eased, shouldn’t you be able to choose a dignified and comfortable end? We believe it’s a fundamental matter of individual choice and dignity. That’s why we’re campaigning to change UK laws around assisted dying, for both the terminally ill and incurably suffering.
We’re living with inhumane laws
Assisted dying is already happening. People are travelling to Switzerland, dying through suicide pacts, or refusing food, water and treatment. None of these outcomes have safeguards, and they can cause additional trauma for patients and families. Legal assisted dying offers the chance to put safeguards in place where currently there are none.
Three-quarters of British adults support a compassionate right to die law.
The safeguards work: a global picture
We recognise that any assisted dying law must contain strong safeguards and be offered alongside palliative care. But evidence from countries where assisted dying is legal shows that safeguards can be effective, and palliative care improves when assisted dying is legalised.
More than one person a week travels to Switzerland from the UK for an assisted death.
PARLIAMENT SHOULD CHANGE THE LAW
The law needs to change
This Parliament had a historic opportunity to deliver compassionate, humane, and safe assisted dying legislation. It failed to meet the challenge.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was a Private Members’ Bill originally sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater MBE. In June 2025, the Bill passed the House of Commons by 314 votes to 291, a majority of 23. In April 2026, the Bill failed in the House of Lords.
Peers proposed a record number of amendments, many of which were unworkable, repetitive, and unnecessary, and the debate continued at a glacial pace until the Bill ran out of time.
This filibuster was outrageous and undemocratic.
Lauren Edwards MP brought the Bill back, but it failed at Second Reading, 270 votes in favour, 286 against. The change from the previous vote that led to defeat was largely due to abstentions. Votes from Scottish and Northern Irish MPs against the Bill – which applied only to England and Wales – also proved decisive.
The defeat was devastating for terminally ill people who have spent their remaining time asking Parliament to listen to their voices.
This will deepen public disillusionment with our political system. The Commons had already approved this reform, yet filibustering by unelected peers blocked it.
Terminally ill people cannot wait indefinitely for Parliament to deliver the compassion and choice they deserve.
It’s time for the UK to adopt
a compassionate approach
We stand for choice and dignity
For decades we’ve worked alongside impassioned campaigners to empower people of sound mind with the freedom to die with compassion.
We played an integral and leading role in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, including:
- Made the case in Parliament, briefing MPs and members of the House of Lords on choice and dignity at the end of life.
- Organised rallies outside Parliament.
- Proposed practical improvements, submitting evidence on strong safeguards, fair access, and a more compassionate approval process for dying people.
- Brought personal experiences into the debate, helping people affected by the law share their stories.
- Explained the facts and challenged misleading claims, through media interviews, research, and accessible updates on the Bill.
In addition to that, we:
- Successfully supported efforts to pass assisted dying legislation in Jersey and the Isle of Man.
- Co-founded the UK’s first ever national Assisted Dying Coalition, bringing together campaigners, medical professionals, and other organisations.
- Supported a landmark legal case which prompted the Director of Public Prosecutions to change their guidelines on assisted dying in 2014.
- Subsequently supported all further legal attempts to change the law.
- Backed new research into the legalisation of assisted dying and championed proposals to legalise assisted dying in Guernsey.
- Published research showing significant support for assisted dying amongst people with motor neurone disease.
- Worked with the medical community to reform the key medical institutions’ stances on this issue.
Politicians and governments cannot simply leave the issue of assisted dying in the ‘too-hard’ category. This is a fundamental human right. That should trump any political, religious, or other motives.
