Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a private members' bill (PMB) which proposes to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults in England and Wales. The bill was introduced by Labour backbench MP Kim Leadbeater in October 2024 after she was chosen first by ballot for PMBs. The political parties in Parliament gave MPs a free vote on the bill.

Background and campaign

Assisted suicide is the ending of one's own life with the assistance of another. Assisting a suicide is illegal in England and Wales under the Suicide Act 1961 and can lead to a maximum of 14 years' imprisonment. This is distinct from euthanasia which is intentionally ending another person's life to relieve suffering, which is also illegal in England and Wales. In 2015, a private member's bill (PMB) called Assisted Dying (No 2) Bill was introduced by Labour's Rob Marris, which was a free vote for MPs. However, it was defeated at its second reading by 330–118. In May 2021, another PMB was introduced on assisted dying by Molly Meacher, Baroness Meacher, and received its second reading in the House of Lords but did not progress.

On 19 December 2023, journalist and television presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal lung cancer, said she joined the assisted suicide clinic Dignitas in Switzerland where it is legal and permits foreigners to use the service.