England Moves Toward Legalizing Assisted Suicide Amid Global Concerns

By Laura Hollis
Friday, 03 October 2025 02:46 PM EDT

England and Wales are preparing to legalize assisted suicide as the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill” advances after passing the House of Commons in June. The legislation faces significant opposition, including from former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, who labeled it the “license to kill Bill.” May warned that the law would normalize suicide and send a harmful message about the value of lives for the elderly, mentally ill, and disabled.

Kim Leadbetter, the Labour Party Member of Parliament who introduced the bill, reiterated assurances that its powers would not be misused and that it does not devalue vulnerable populations. However, critics argue that the bill’s initial premise—limiting access to terminally ill adults with less than six months to live—fails to account for the difficulty in predicting lifespans, even with terminal diagnoses.

Proponents of the legislation anticipate expanding its scope over time, first to include individuals with mental illness and later to those under 18. The Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada serve as cautionary examples. In the Netherlands, euthanasia was legalized in 2002 without requiring a terminal illness diagnosis, leading to a 10% annual increase in deaths by assisted suicide. Psychiatric reasons for ending life rose from two cases in 2010 to 219 last year, including a case where a woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder ended her life due to an inability to clean. The Netherlands now permits euthanasia for children as young as 12.

Belgium eliminated age restrictions in 2014, allowing minors to request assisted death under specific conditions. Canada’s “Medical Assistance in Dying” law, enacted in 2016, has seen over 60,000 deaths in nine years, despite excluding minors and those with mental illness. Critics highlight long healthcare wait times in both countries, raising concerns that euthanasia could become a cost-saving measure rather than a compassionate option.

The article also addresses broader societal trends, including rising abortion rates in the U.S., declining birth rates across Western nations, and the increasing normalization of gender-affirming procedures. The author attributes these shifts to the erosion of Christian values, which they argue historically underpinned medical advancements and the sanctity of life. As England moves forward with its legislation, the debate over the ethical implications of assisted suicide continues to intensify.

Laura Hollis is an attorney and university professor with extensive experience in law and business. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including the Temple Law Review and Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy.