The House of Lords Select Committee on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will hold two oral evidence sessions this week. It has been reported that the committee is weighted against assisted dying, with more opponents of legislation change than supporters. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision analysis suggests that, apart from the Bill Sponsors, the experts so far called to give evidence consist only of those who are neutral or opposed to the current Bill.
Who is giving evidence this week?
On Wednesday, the Select Committee will hear from the Bill sponsors, Lord Falconer of Thoroton and Kim Leadbeater MP, before hearing from representatives of three of the royal medical colleges: Professor Mumtaz Patel (President at Royal College of Physicians), Dr Michael Mulholland (Honorary Secretary at Royal College of General Practitioners), and Professor Nicola Ranger (General Secretary and Chief Executive at Royal College of Nursing).
On Thursday, the Select Committee will hear first about the workability of the panel that will examine each assisted dying case. As introduced in the Commons, a multidisciplinary panel consisting of a senior lawyer, social worker, and psychiatrist, overseen by a high court judge, will sign off on each case after two independent doctors have assessed the patient. Dr Annabel Price will provide evidence on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), and Luke Geoghegan will represent the British Association of Social Workers.
The second session will hear from Dr Suzy Lishman (Lead on Medical Examiners at Royal College of Pathologists), Professor Aidan Fowler (National Director of Patient Safety at NHS England) and HHJ Thomas Teague KC (Former Chief Coroner of England and Wales at HMCTS)
Where do the Royal Colleges stand on assisted dying?
One of the biggest differences between now and the 2015 Assisted Dying Bill is that all of the Royal Colleges have ended their opposition to assisted dying and moved to a position of neutrality. The British Medical Association also ended their opposition and moved to a neutral position in 2021. Nevertheless, RCPsych has been increasingly critical of the Bill, to the point that seven RCPsych members, including a former college president and vice-president, have voiced concern and distanced themselves from the opposition stance taken by the medical body.
Who else will provide evidence?
The committee will take three further days of oral evidence. The sessions on Wednesday 29 October will focus on social and palliative care. The programme for the sessions on Thursday 30 October and Wednesday 5 November has not yet been published. My Death, My Decision and Humanists UK are calling for at least one session to be dedicated to the experiences of terminally ill adults.
What happens next?
The move to establish a Select Committee was made during the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’s Second Reading in the House of Lords. It will not produce a report or make recommendations, but will take and publish oral evidence. The Select Committee will conclude by 7 November, and the Bill will then progress to its Committee Stage for detailed line-by-line scrutiny.
The Bill will need to complete its passage through parliament by Spring 2026.
Richy Thompson, Director of Public Affairs at Humanists UK, said:
‘This week of evidence-gathering will continue the unprecedented scrutiny that this Bill has received. No other Private Members’ Bill in history has ever received this many hours of debate, this amount of expert evidence, or this amount of public attention. But at least one session really should include terminally ill people and the loved ones of those who have received an assisted death abroad. You cannot exclude their voices in this debate, and their experience will be vital in understanding the workability of the proposed Bill.
‘What is crystal clear is that the status quo is unworkable; it leads to unnecessary suffering, painful suicides, and people fleeing their own country to take control of their deaths. We hope that peers recognise and listen to the lived experience of the terminally ill and understand why the law must change.’
Dave Sowry, Board Member of My Death, My Decision, said:
‘The Assisted Dying Bill is the most intensely scrutinised legislation this Parliament has ever seen. In 2024, a parliamentary inquiry into assisted dying received 68,000 responses from the public, 389 submissions of written evidence, and held three days of oral evidence sessions. The House of Commons Bill committee this year received 444 submissions of written evidence and held five oral evidence sessions, hearing from 50 witnesses.
‘We hope the Select Committee takes evidence from the most important people this debate is centred around, the terminally ill. We cannot fathom how members of the House of Lords could take further evidence about the Terminally Ill Adults Bill without hearing from terminally ill adults. People who are dying deserve to be heard, they deserve the right to make decisions about the end of their lives, and they deserve dignity. ’
Notes
For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan@humanists.uk
Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision have people and their loved ones who would be affected by this change available for the press.
If you have been affected by the current assisted dying legislation, and want to use your story to support a change in the law, please email campaigns@humanists.uk.
Humanists defend the right of each individual to live by their own personal values, and the freedom to make decisions about their own life so long as this does not result in harm to others. Humanists do not share the attitudes to death and dying held by some religious believers, in particular that the manner and time of death are for a deity to decide, and that interference in the course of nature is unacceptable. We firmly uphold the right to life but we recognise that this right carries with it the right of each individual to make their own judgement about whether their life should be prolonged in the face of pointless suffering.
We recognise that any assisted dying law must contain strong safeguards and the international evidence from countries where assisted dying is legal shows that safeguards can be effective. We also believe that the choice of assisted dying should not be considered an alternative to palliative care, but should be offered together as in many other countries.
Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.
My Death, My Decision is a grassroots campaign group that wants the law in England and Wales to allow mentally competent adults who are terminally ill or intolerably suffering from an incurable condition the option of a legal, safe, and compassionate assisted death. With the support of over 3,000 members and supporters, we advocate for an evidence-based law that would balance individual choice alongside robust safeguards and finally give the people of England and Wales choice at the end of their lives
Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision are both members of the Assisted Dying Coalition, along with Friends at the End, Humanist Society Scotland, and End of Life Choices Jersey.