Our Campaign Against Assisted Suicide
SPUC upholds the right to life from conception until natural death, and has played a part in resisting many attempts both in Parliament and in the courts to change the law on assisted suicide.
There is currently a concerted attempt to impose assisted suicide across the UK. A Bill has just passed its third reading on the Isle of Man. It has already been approved in principle in Jersey, with politicians there now working out the details.
In Scotland, a private members bill brought by Orkney MSP Liam McArthur is making its way through Holyrood.
In Westminster, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has committed to allowing a free vote on the subject during this Parliament. There is already a private members bill in the House of Lords.
On this page you will find general resources on assisted suicide. Please view our related campaigns below for specific threats.
Related Campaigns
People’s Stories
Ask your MP to oppose the legalisation of assisted suicide
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley, has announced that she will be bringing a bill on assisted suicide. Ms Leadbetter won top place in the private members ballot, so her bill has a high chance of succeeding if MPs vote in favour of it.
Please use our tool to contact your MP, asking them to oppose Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill.
Related Articles
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MPs voting for assisted suicide would be “foolish” to ignore palliative care concerns, says health committee chair
Liberal Democrats MP Layla Moran, the chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, says it would be “foolish” to ignore the concerns of palliative care doctors about assisted suicide, though she still supports Kim Leadbeater’s draft bill. Moran said it would be “foolish” to ignore the warnings of palliative…
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Pope Francis calls out abortion and assisted suicide in first 2025 homily
Pope Francis called on people around the world to reject abortion and assisted suicide in his New Year message at the Vatican. At New Year’s Day Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis called on all people to “respect the dignity of human life from conception to…
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MPs may withdraw support from assisted suicide bill over coercion concerns
At least 30 MPs who voted for Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill are prepared to withdraw their support for the proposed law because they are concerned about coercion and the role of doctors in suggesting assisted suicide to patients. After a “disappointing” first vote in favour of the Leadbeater Bill,…
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Over 15,000 assisted suicides in Canada in 2023, a “clear warning” to UK
State-sanctioned assisted suicides in Canada reached a record high, with over 15,000 such deaths recorded in 2023. SPUC says that Canada offers a “clear warning” of where the UK is heading if the Leadbeater Bill, which passed a first vote last month, is approved. 15,343 people were killed by Medical…
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“Significant” victory as Welsh Parliament rejects assisted suicide motion in Senedd
Senedd members have rejected a non-binding motion supporting an assisted suicide law. SPUC has called the result a “significant” victory for vulnerable people who would be targeted by such a law.
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Health Secretary expected to vote against assisted suicide
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says he will vote against fellow Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill because he is concerned about the state of palliative care in the UK.
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Assisted Suicide: A threat to the vulnerable?
Why do people support a change in the law on assisted suicide? According to Professor David Albert Jones, director of the Anscombe Centre for Bioethics in Oxford, the most common reasons are; avoiding a bad death involving pain, allowing choice, and to provide safeguards for something which is already happening.
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Keir Starmer refused to prosecute assisted suicide case as it wasn’t in “public interest”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “spared” a doctor who was arrested for assisting in the death of a man in 2009.