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Original poster

2nd reading of Assisted Dying Bill - 11 September 2026

117 replies

IwantToRetire · 04/09/2026 17:50

Write to your MP - Share the MRP polling and ask them to oppose the assisted dying Bill

Despite its many serious flaws being repeatedly exposed in the House of Lords in the previous session and the ongoing warnings of medical Royal Colleges and groups representing vulnerable people, the assisted dying Bill has been reintroduced to Parliament by Lauren Edwards MP.

Assisted death regimes across the world bring with them an inherent risk of grave harm to vulnerable women. The Other Half and other campaigners, academics and experts have highlighted this risk consistently, and it is profoundly frustrating that our concerns have so far fallen on deaf ears, with Lauren Edwards reintroducing essentially the same Bill as the one which failed to pass in the previous parliamentary session.

By introducing a virtually identical Bill, Lauren Edwards has paved the way for the Bill to pass through unamended, and for the Parliament Acts to be used in order to bypass scrutiny from the House of Lords and for the Bill to become law with its flaws intact.

Polling conducted on behalf of The Other Half has shown that the public overwhelmingly does not view this Bill as a priority for MPs, and the new Prime Minister has also been clear that addressing existing failings in palliative and social care should take precedence over any consideration of assisted dying.

There are specific dangers in the Bill, highlighted in the previous parliamentary session, which Lauren Edwards has chosen not to address: these include the removal of coronial investigation, the lack of a requirement for families to be informed about an assisted dying application, and the omission of specific protections for domestic abuse victims/survivors.

Only 12 MPs need to change their minds from how they voted in the previous parliamentary session for the new Bill to fail. We can win and make sure this Bill is thrown out, with your help.

We are asking you to write to your MP to highlight your concerns and ask them to make sure that Lauren Edwards’ new assisted dying Bill is stopped at Second Reading on 11 September.

Every vote will count, and it takes just 60 seconds to contact your MP. Please take action today.

https://www.writeonad.theotherhalf.uk/
(Not sure how effective it is to use a web generated standard letter.)

See more about The Other Half https://theotherhalf.uk/

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2026-27
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-12181/

Write to your MP - Stop the new assisted dying bill

The threat of this bill and the harm it will do to vulnerable women is such that the bill must be voted down at Second Reading on 11 September. The safeguards are inadequate; the bill is not safe.

https://www.writeonad.theotherhalf.uk

OP posts:
Original poster
IwantToRetire · 04/09/2026 19:19

For those who aren't aware and haven't read the earlier threads, the point it not what we all want is some sort of Disney Land. The links are posted in the first post on this thread.

This is about the actual Bill being voted on.

To summarise and others can add to this list

It is a badly worded Bill which started as a Private Members bill
For whatever reasons, laziness, celebrity pressure, sentimentality the Government then took it over
There is also ample evidence from other countries that this is a system that can be easily abused
And for women coercion and lack of status make they vulnerable - that's why the feminist group the Other Half have written about, see links provided in the OP

It isn't about likes, or dislikes. It is about the fact that the Bill is coming forward for a 2nd reading.

And given the very many well argued points made in the previous threads, this seems like bad politics, and media hype possibly creating something that could very soon become a threat to the most vulnerable.

OP posts:
6ate9 · 04/09/2026 19:17

@AngleofRepose “I know the "quality" of life beyond which I would not want to live”

I would rather ‘get out while the going is good’!

AngleofRepose · 04/09/2026 19:13

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:11

It annoys me that people who disagree with it are taking away our choice.

Show quote history

Only if the Bill does not pass (I don't think it will pass, not in my lifetime). I understand your frustration, and I share it. But it's the curse (and beauty) of living in a democracy. I wouldn't want to live in a country where assisted dying was mandatory either.

I do believe that a lot of people who are against assisted dying (and they are not guaranteed to be the same people who are against the Bill) don't really know what they would do if faced with the choice for themselves. But they worry that too many people would not see it as a choice, and that's fair enough. I have seen too much in my extended family to not want to have that choice.

I know the "quality" of life beyond which I would not want to live. I wouldn't presume to speak for anyone else, but, when we vote (or MPs vote), that's exactly what we are doing. For better or for worse.

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 19:13

CassOle · 04/09/2026 19:09

I am pro assisted dying. I am against this bill as it stands.

Same! Adults should have bodily autonomy to choose the manner and timing of their death regardless of a strict six month prognosis.

CassOle · 04/09/2026 19:09

I am pro assisted dying. I am against this bill as it stands.

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 19:08

Niminy · 04/09/2026 18:52

‘No one would be coerced’ - sadly, as all the Riyal Colleges, disabled people’s organisations, domestic abuse campaigners, and loads of others have endlessly pointed out, this bill contains almost no protection against coercion. In my experience of dealing with vulnerable elderly people and their families, it is all to easy to see how coercion could happen.

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Independent reviews and testimonies find little to no evidence of widespread, undetected coercion.

Not allowing assisted dying forces people to suffer against their will or travel aboard privately.

Niminy · 04/09/2026 18:52

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:35

@Niminy “And how many people are we willing to have die needlessly in order to have our own choice?”

Who are these people dying needlessly? It would be a choice. No one would be ‘forced’ into it.

‘No one would be coerced’ - sadly, as all the Riyal Colleges, disabled people’s organisations, domestic abuse campaigners, and loads of others have endlessly pointed out, this bill contains almost no protection against coercion. In my experience of dealing with vulnerable elderly people and their families, it is all to easy to see how coercion could happen.

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:44

I often think people are scared of death nowadays. They don’t like thinking about their mortality.

LlynTegid · 04/09/2026 18:40

I am with the OP in opposing it, and my MP voted against.

Compared with when the first countries introduced it, we understand more about coercive control, which in reality harms more women than men it appears. I don't want the limited end of life care there is to replace an option with something where people feel almost an obligation.

I also think the provision if introduced in time will be extended.

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:37

It’s about giving people a choice. Plenty of people do want assisted dying. We have a massive shortage of carers in the UK which is only getting worse, and an increasing aging population.

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:35

@Niminy “And how many people are we willing to have die needlessly in order to have our own choice?”

Who are these people dying needlessly? It would be a choice. No one would be ‘forced’ into it.

Niminy · 04/09/2026 18:31

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:24

There will always be risks with assisted dying (like in Canada) but ultimately we should be allowed to have it as an option.

The trouble with saying ‘there will always be risks’ is that the stakes are literally life and death. And how many people are we willing to have die needlessly in order to have our own choice?

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:24

There will always be risks with assisted dying (like in Canada) but ultimately we should be allowed to have it as an option.

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:11

AngleofRepose · 04/09/2026 18:06

For me, yes, I agree. I would like that choice. However, many women will disagree with us here, for various reasons, and I think they have some good arguments as well, especially around safeguarding.

But, I wish it were legal in the UK for me to have that choice.

Show quote history

It annoys me that people who disagree with it are taking away our choice.

AngleofRepose · 04/09/2026 18:06

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:01

I would like assisted dying. I would definitely like this for dementia. We should look at the quality of life, not quantity. I realise this will not happen in my lifetime!

For me, yes, I agree. I would like that choice. However, many women will disagree with us here, for various reasons, and I think they have some good arguments as well, especially around safeguarding.

But, I wish it were legal in the UK for me to have that choice.

6ate9 · 04/09/2026 18:01

I would like assisted dying. I would definitely like this for dementia. We should look at the quality of life, not quantity. I realise this will not happen in my lifetime!

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