Public Policy Researcher Carys Moseley explains why Welsh politicians should reject a motion to allow assisted suicide on the NHS should Leadbeater’s bill pass through parliament
On Tuesday 27 January, Members of the Welsh Senedd will vote on whether the provisions of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill will be introduced in the NHS in Wales. This is an important test of whether, and to what extent, politicians genuinely grasp the serious problems that legalising assisted suicide poses for healthcare at all levels.
The vote has been postponed from Tuesday 20 January.
Legislative Consent Motion
There is a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) before the Senedd on this matter. This is because Wales has powers over healthcare but not the law on suicide, which is part of the criminal law of England and Wales. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would change both the criminal law on suicide and law on healthcare. Therefore, under the constitutional settlement on devolution, Westminster asks the Senedd to vote on a Legislative Consent Motion on the matters pertaining to healthcare, which is devolved to Wales.
Content of the vote
Members of the Senedd will vote on whether or not assisted suicide could be provided on the NHS in Wales.
They will also vote on powers for Welsh Government ministers to issue clinical guidance on the matter to doctors in NHS Wales.
In addition, they will vote on the question of how the Voluntary Assisted Dying Commission would operate in Wales.
What if Members of the Senedd vote for the LCM?
If Members of the Senedd vote for the LCM, they consent to assisted dying (assisted suicide in reality) becoming available on the NHS in Wales, regulated on the NHS, with clinical oversight. This would have a fundamental impact on the ethos of the NHS, on the doctor-patient relationship – including patients’ relationships with their GPs. It would have a major effect on the morale of doctors in various specialisms, in particular palliative care and geriatric care, as well as those treating terminal illnesses.
What if Members of the Senedd vote against the LCM?
If Members of the Senedd vote against the LCM, assisted dying (assisted suicide) would still be legal in Wales but could become available only in the private sector. This means that people living in Wales who want it could have to travel to England to get it. This is a complaint that supporters of the bill are, of course, making.
250 doctors tell MSs to oppose the LCM
Concern has been mounting for some time as to how the Leadbeater bill could affect Wales. This week, 250 Welsh doctors signed an open letter arguing that MSs should oppose the LCM. They included among their concerns the lack of palliative care funding and the inappropriate burdening of the NHS with assisted suicide.
Former Chief Medical Officer for Wales opposes bill
Dame Deirdre Hind, the former Chief Medical Officer for Wales, spoke up against the bill. Along with several palliative care consultants she said this:
The bill’s definition of terminal illness fails to recognise the risks from mistaken diagnosis or misinformation. Accurate prognostication is impossible.
Lack of hospice beds and shortage of palliative care
Dr Victoria Wheatley, a consultant in palliative care who is one of the signatories of the letter, warned that the Leadbeater bill was not giving ‘real choice’ to Welsh patients at all. She cited the fact that a quarter of patients in Wales have no access to a hospice bed. The open letter refers to ‘inequity in provision of hospice beds and palliative care’.
She also warned that the final text of the bill is not yet known, therefore it would be premature for MSs to vote for the provisions for the NHS.
Clash with UK and Welsh Government suicide prevention policy
The open letter pulls no punches. It warns that the Leadbeater bill deals in an area not provided for by the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The Mental Capacity Act (MCA 2005) was not designed to assess suicidality. A full psychosocial and mental health assessment should be required for a person who presents with suicidal ideation, whether they are terminally ill or not.
The Welsh Government has a Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Delivery Plan for 2025-2028. Implementing assisted suicide on the NHS in Wales would clearly clash with this at the most fundamental ethical level. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Stuart Porter told the press that psychiatrists oppose the bill, and implicitly its introduction in Wales.
Key criticisms of Leadbeater bill strongly reiterated
The open letter strongly reiterates key criticisms of the bill made repeatedly since November 2024. Most evidently, the bill text lacks provisions for proper oversight of the workings of the proposed system.
The oversight within this Bill is inadequate. The panel does not need to see the patient. The MHRA does not need to regulate the drugs. The coroner does not need to review the death. There is no mechanism for independent scrutiny of the assisted dying service, for appeal against panel approval or redress for distressed family members.
Clinicians recall Senedd voted against Leadbeater bill in October 2024
The open letter goes on to remind politicians and the public that Members of the Senedd voted against a motion that supported the Leadbeater bill back in October 2024. At that time Christian Concern campaigned against the motion, which was promoted by Humanists UK. We were widely quoted in the press in Wales at the time.
During the debate Jeremy Miles, the then Health Minister for Wales, warned that the bill provisions would have a massive impact on the NHS in Wales. It was also significant that the First Minister Eluned Morgan voted against the motion.
Challenge for the House of Lords
If MSs vote to reject the LCM, the Leadbeater bill will require Wales-specific scrutiny from the House of Lords, where it is currently being debated. The Lords will have to make a decision on whether to override this vote or consider removing bill clauses that refer specifically to implementing assisted dying in Wales.
Peers bill in Westminster have already tabled over 1,000 amendments to it, in an attempt to make sure that it does not pass through the Lords unless – at the very least – its safeguards are improved. Labour has this week allocated even more time for peers to discuss these amendments to try to avoid the bill running out of time.
If Members of the Senedd vote against the LCM, the bill will be slowed down further. Their vote can help undermine the credibility of this dangerous bill, by drawing attention to the vulnerability of the NHS in Wales, and the need for wider availability of palliative care at the end of life.
Human dignity and the sanctity of life hang by a thread here. Let’s pray that they are respected and safeguarded.
If you live in Wales, contact your member of the Senedd, asking them to oppose the Legislative Consent Motion on assisted suicide