Campaigners for terminally ill people and the Express Give Us Our Last Rights campaign have suffered a major setback after MPs rejected the assisted dying bill by 286 votes to 270 at its second reading.
The legislation could return in a later parliamentary session, but any fresh attempt would have to begin the long legislative journey again from the start.
Ministers could also choose to introduce their own assisted dying proposals. But that route appears unlikely in the near future, particularly after Andy Burnham argued that palliative and social care must be repaired before the law is changed.
Following nearly two years of debate, today’s vote means a change in the law is now unlikely before the 2030s at the earliest.
The historic Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was reintroduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards after an earlier version, sponsored by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater, was blocked by a minority of peers in the House of Lords.
Opening the debate, Ms Edwards called on MPs to send the near-identical Bill back to the Lords “so that they can finish what they started” in examining it.
She told the Commons: “We can and we must improve both palliative care and support assisted dying. We must grasp that opportunity in front of us to create a holistic end of life care system that will deliver choice and dignity for every single one of our constituents.”
Speaking to supporters earlier in the day, Lord Charlie Falconer, who sponsored the bill in the House of Lords, said he believed a victory in the Commons would put reform firmly on course.
He said: “The more that people see the support that there is out there for this cause, the more people in there [Parliament] will finally reflect what the country thinks.
“The law at the moment is an absolute catastrophe and makes people suffer so much. So thank you so much for sticking with it. I am so sorry a few lords behaved so badly last time, but this time, keep with us. We will get the law changed and hopefully, today will be a massive milestone in doing it.”
In an emotional and closely watched debate, MPs again set out deeply held arguments on both sides. Claire Hazelgrove, the MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, spoke publicly for the first time about the traumatic death of her mother last October.
She said her mother, Ruth, had been living with blood cancer since the age of 32 before her condition developed into a late-stage terminal illness in 2024.
Ms Hazelgrove said: “That autumn, while we debated the initial version of this bill, mum’s pain was excruciating. She had access to good palliative care, but what we learned the hardest of ways is that not all pain can be palliated. I will never forget seeing her writhing and screaming in pain at points, for weeks. None of us will. I know of no deity that would want that.”
Ruth was able to return home and made the decision to end her life on her own terms, Ms Hazelgrove said. But the law meant she could not tell her loved ones her plan or say goodbye. The MP added: “Instead, the harmful status quo meant that mum died alone, with photos of us around her. This is why our vote today, and our work on this, is so important now.
“If we were to leave it once again to another Parliament, it would be too late for other people with terminal illnesses who want this provision too but instead face the same impossible bind as my mum.
“In part of mum’s last note to us, she wrote: ‘I wish the assisted dying bill would have come into force in my lifetime. Maybe there will be hope for others in the future.’”
Meanwhile, Ashley Dalton, who is living with terminal breast cancer, argued against the bill. She said her diagnosis had left her intensely fearful of what was to come.
Ms Dalton added: “When you hear those words depression, anxiety grief, fear, shame and guilt come in bounds. Suicide risk is highest immediately after diagnosis and it usually falls quickly within three to six moths.
“I would be lying if I said that when thinking about all that was to come, I didn’t consider that it might just be fairer and easier on everyone if I just got the dying over with as soon as possible.”
The MP for West Lancashire said she is now living between scans every nine to 12 weeks, moving from treatment to treatment. She warned that the campaign around the bill risked implying that everyone with a terminal illness would have a painful death, without the option of the assisted dying.
She added: “The idea that it is not possible to alleviate pain and discomfort is false. It is nothing short of irresponsible to scaremonger people like me into believing our deaths will be horrific, when all the evidence suggests that with good access to palliative care, deaths are on the whole gentle.
“The answer is not to terrify people and their families, it’s to sort out palliative care and social care first.”
