Catholic Medical Quarterly Vol 76 (3) August 2026
The demise of the Leadbetter Assisted Dying Bill.
From Our Duty of Care
Yesterday
[Friday 24th April 2026]) we saw the final speeches on the Leadbeater Bill
in the House of Lords and learned that it will not pass.
Thank you so much to everyone who contacted MPs and Peers to voice
concerns about and oppose the Bill.
We are extraordinarily grateful for
the careful scrutiny of the Peers over the last eight months and the
detailed exposure of the weaknesses of the Bill.
Some are accusing Peers of subverting democracy, but rather, they have provided the scrutiny lacking in the House of Commons.
In the Commons, the vast majority of amendments proposed by MPs with concerns about the Bill's implications were rejected by the Committee. At the Report stage, only two days were initially allocated for debate. Eighty amendments proposed by MPs who had concerns about the Bill were not even called for debate or voted on.
In the Lords, a further committee was formed which called a wider range of witnesses than had been heard in the Commons including the Royal College of Psychiatrists who expressed their opposition to this Bill. A total of 14 days were allocated for consideration of the Bill, more than is typical for Private Members' Bills. The Bill's sponsor in the Lords rejected the vast majority of the amendments proposed and debated by Peers who had concerns about the Bill.
Polling conducted for CNK shows that the majority (62%) of the public supports the House of Lords fulfilling its scrutinising role and rejecting the Bill if Peers feel it to be unsafe.
The polling also shows that two thirds (67%) of the public want politicians to focus on providing universal access to palliative care before considering legislation to legalise assisted suicide or euthanasia. According to research by Marie Curie, 1 in 3 patients do not have all their palliative care needs addressed.
We now expect supporters of the Bill will bring it back in the next session of Parliament so it is crucial that MPs hear from as many people as possible that this Bill should not be brought back. Priority should be given to funding palliative care.
We will write to you next week with more information. In the meantime, please email your MP to express relief that the Bill has not passed and to call for much greater investment in palliative care.
Please also email a peer and thank them for the detailed scrutiny they have given to the Bill over the last 6 months. You can find out who the Peers are at: Find Members of the House of Lords - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament
We suggest picking two or three peers whose surnames start with the same letter as yours.
Thank you again for all your support, which has led to this success.
Kind Regards,
Dr Gillian Wright MD MPhil
Director
Our Duty of
Care