Written by Opponents of assisted suicide legislation hailed it as a “significant win” when the House of Lords approved the establishment of a select committee to scrutinise further the proposals in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its second reading.
The Bill’s formal committee stage will not now take place until the the select committee has reported.
According to an analysis of the speeches made on the two days of the Second Reading, completed by Right To Life’s policy team, of 155 peers who took a position on the Bill, 104 or 67 per cent spoke in against and 51 or 33 per cent in favour.
Among those against was Lord Moore of Etchingham, who said, “Near my home in Sussex stands the beautiful cliff of Beachy Head, which is the most popular National Trust property, with 2.5 million visitors every year. Unfortunately, it is also the number one suicide spot in the world. Online suicide forums instruct people exactly how to get there and jump to their death.”
He said at least one such candidate arrives every single day. Also every day, the Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team is there, trying to persuade those who have come to die to live. “They are astonishingly successful,” said Lord Moore. “So far this year, they have engaged with 271 people who have come to kill themselves. Of those, only four have jumped.”
He noted that the Bill does not support the freedom to kill yourself, which already exists. “It confers a right to kill yourself with the active assistance of the state and doctors, and at public expense. It also reverses the operation of that power of human persuasion which works such wonders on Beachy Head. Under this legislation, the professionals will, by definition, be people wishing to fulfil a person’s wish to die. No one will be present to advocate the choice of life.”
Lord Moore continued, “I do not believe that our country, particularly our National Health Service, can successfully contain such a contradiction in public policy and morality. If the Bill is enacted, the same hospital whose professionals help rescue potential suicides will contain other professionals who give gravely sick people the substances to kill themselves. On Beachy Head, the chaplains say, ‘Please don’t jump’. In regard to this Bill, my Lords, I say the same to you.”
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell also warned that legalising assisted suicide in England and Wales would unleash a “fundamental” change in society, with vulnerable people put at risk of feeling they have a duty to die.
In his speech, he highlighted the experience of Canada – where assisted suicide is legal – and the “heart rending” stories of people who had chosen an assisted death because they believed it was better for their family than spending their inheritance on care.
He also spoke of his fears that the legislation will be loosened once introduced and that it would have a damaging effect on palliative care.
He said: “I think we can do better than this. Of course I don’t want any one to die a painful agonising death, but nor do I want poor and vulnerable people to be faced with such agonising choices. Better palliative care can massively ease the first dilemma, assisted death will turbocharge the latter. “
THE TABLET
23 September 2025
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