Overview
- Labour MP Lauren Edwards reintroduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and MPs are set to debate and vote on it this week in the House of Commons.
- More than 100 cross‑party peers have written to MPs urging a swift return of the bill to the Lords so the legislative process can be completed after it stalled last year.
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham will abstain from the Commons vote and has said funding for palliative and end‑of‑life care should be fixed before legal change is adopted.
- Ipsos polling for the Press Association found 61% support returning the bill to Parliament while about a third say assisted‑dying should only be legalised alongside extra state funding for end‑of‑life care.
- Medical bodies and campaign groups continue to warn of drafting flaws and risky safeguards, and the bill previously ran out of time in the Lords after more than 1,200 amendments were tabled, raising questions about scrutiny and the Commons‑Lords balance.