Overview
- The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill cleared the Commons in June 2025 by a majority of 23 after extensive debate and evidence sessions.
- The proposal would allow mentally capacitated adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to seek an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and an expert panel.
- Progress in the Lords has stalled as peers have tabled about 1,200 amendments, with debates described by the Hansard Society as a slow crawl.
- Examples cited by campaigners include requirements for negative pregnancy tests, bans on hospices providing services, filming of deaths, background checks on relatives, GP relationship rules, travel restrictions, and even an AI ban.
- Supporters such as Dame Prue Leith decry the delays as obstruction with real human costs, while opponents argue rigorous scrutiny is essential because the Bill lacks sufficient operational detail, and the session’s end in May could cause the measure to fall.