UK to Consider Bill to Legalise Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill

LONDON (Reuters) -British lawmakers will soon consider whether to give terminally ill adults a choice to end their own lives with medical assistance, after what proponents say is a shift in public opinion since a similar measure was rejected a decade ago.

Kim Leadbeater, a lawmaker from Britain’s governing Labour Party who won a ballot giving her the right to introduce a bill on a subject of her choice, confirmed on Thursday that she would present a bill on assisted dying on Oct. 16.

“I … strongly believe that we should give people facing the most unbearable end to their life a choice about what that end is like,” she wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

The law is expected to allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less left to live to choose whether to end their lives, and allow medics to help them. Under current law, assisting suicide is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised earlier this year to give lawmakers a free vote on the issue, meaning Labour, which won an election in July, will not instruct its members how to vote. Other parties have also told their members they can vote according to their consciences.

A number of lawmakers from all of Britain’s major parties remain sceptical, notably expressing concern that terminally ill patients who are vulnerable and feel they are being a burden to their families could face pressure to end their lives.

“While I deeply respect the debate, I have yet to see legislation that fully addresses concerns around coercion or doubt,” Labour lawmaker James Frith wrote on X. “If a vote were held today, I would vote against assisted dying.”

Those who accompany relatives choosing euthanasia in places such as Switzerland, where it has been legal since 1942, can now face prosecution in Britain for assisting suicide.

In recent years, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and some U.S. states have legalised assisted dying under certain circumstances. Within the UK, the devolved parliament in Scotland, which sets its own laws on such matters, is considering similar legislation.

Polling of 2,000 Britons published by research group Savanta on Friday showed 48% supported it, 21% opposed it, 22% say they neither support or oppose it and the rest don’t know.

“This is a historic opportunity to bring about real change for dying people … The mood in Westminster has shifted dramatically, at last catching up with public opinion,” said Sarah Wootton, head of the campaign group Dignity in Dying.

(Reporting by Sachin RavikumarAdditional reporting by Sarah YoungEditing by William James and Peter Graff)