Assisted dying

What arguments have MPs and peers made for and against assisted dying over the past twelve months?

A briefing written by AI (Claude) from the Hansard records cited below, prepared 27 October 2026 from records up to 26 October 2026. Check the sources before relying on it.

In brief

Supporters in the Commons paired backing for the Bill with better palliative care, as when Layla Moran, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said "I do not believe that this is an either/or proposition. I want palliative care to improve, therefore I will be voting for this Bill." [Source 3]
Opponents in both Houses argued the Bill's safeguards and definitions are inadequate, as when Baroness O'Loan said "This Bill does not provide protection for those with such conditions, who may be coerced into seeking an assisted death." [Source 12]
Peers and MPs disagreed over the terminology, as when Carla Lockhart said "The soft language of 'assisted dying' is misleading the public" [Source 16] while Baroness Hayman said "it is wrong to categorise people who wish their life to come to an end... as in some way committing suicide." [Source 11]

Commons supporters – supportive, tied to palliative care

Lauren Edwards (Labour, Rochester and Strood, a city seat) said "we can, and must, both improve palliative care and support assisted dying." [Source 14]

Layla Moran said she did "not believe that palliative care will improve as fast as we want it to without the pressure of a Bill like this." [Source 3]
Edwards argued that "There is not a uniform view among disabled people on assisted dying." [Source 17]

Commons critics – sceptical, focused on safeguards and slippery slope

Ashley Dalton (Labour, West Lancashire), who has a terminal diagnosis, said "Not one of the professional bodies that would be tasked with delivering the Bill is willing to attest that it is, as it stands, safe or workable." [Source 15]

Edward Leigh (Conservative, Gainsborough, a rural seat) said "I do not believe that it will be just an assisted dying Bill; I think that in time, it will become an assisted suicide Bill." [Source 10]
Janet Daby (Labour, Lewisham East) said she had changed her vote because of inequality: "I implore the Government to invest in hospices and palliative care across the country." [Source 20]

Lords – divided, mostly detailed scrutiny

Critics concentrated on prognosis and coercion, as when Baroness O'Loan, who has raised the subject repeatedly, said "Illnesses that can be stabilised, halted or effectively managed by treatment must be excluded." [Source 12]

Baroness Noakes (Conservative) countered that "there are many safeguards that would mean that we have a relatively safe definition of six months." [Source 8]
Lord Kamall, for the Conservative front bench, said "As the Official Opposition, we have no collective view." [Source 4]

Government – neutral

Baroness Merron said "The Government remains neutral on the policy choices in the bill, and it is rightly a matter for Parliament to decide if the safeguards in the bill are sufficient." [Source 1]

Devolved parliaments – debating their own consent and amendments

In the Senedd, Darren Millar (Conservative) opposed consent, saying "I can't help but feel that we're effectively being asked to sign a blank cheque." [Source 30] In the Scottish Parliament, Murdo Fraser (Conservative) said "All that I am seeking to do is to ensure that we put suicide prevention at the heart of the bill." [Source 26] Daniel Johnson (Labour) said "he is trying to create a distinction that might make it incredibly difficult for practitioners" [Source 27] to apply. In the Northern Ireland Assembly, Diane Forsythe (DUP) said "the answer to suffering must be better care, not a pathway to death." [Source 32]

Committee witnesses

Professor Katherine Sleeman told the Bill Committee she had "deep concerns about the implementation of assisted dying in a context where palliative care is patchy, fragmented and often woefully inadequate." [Source 33] Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Health and Social Care Committee he wanted "a real choice and no one feels compelled to take up an assisted death through the absence of palliative and end-of-life care services." [Source 34]

About the evidence: The records cover Commons speeches from 11 September 2026 and Lords committee days from November 2025 to March 2026, with a few speakers per group and no division records. The Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly are devolved bodies that decide many subjects for their own nations, and their members are not members of the UK Parliament.

Assisted dying

Sources