Why the Bill for Assisted Dying is not good enough
£28.00
September 2026
This policy report examines the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, assessing concerns around safeguards, coercion and mental capacity, palliative care, health inequalities, medical ethics and trust in healthcare, with particular attention to the implications for British Muslim and other vulnerable communities. It concludes that the legislation is premature and sets out recommendations to strengthen end-of-life care and protections before assisted dying is reconsidered.
This policy report examines the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ahead of its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 11 September 2026 and sets out the case for why the proposed legislation should be rejected in its current form. Building on the Centre for Muslims in Britain’s original 2021 briefing on the Meacher Bill, it considers how assisted dying legislation has evolved and assesses whether the safeguards now proposed are sufficient to protect vulnerable people.
Drawing on parliamentary scrutiny, government assessments and evidence from medical, disability, mental-health, older-person and domestic-abuse organisations, the report explores concerns around mental capacity, coercion, health inequalities, palliative care, the doctor–patient relationship and trust in healthcare. It gives particular attention to the implications for British Muslim and other minority communities, for whom assisted dying raises profound questions on both sides of the hospital bed — as patients and families navigating end-of-life care, and as healthcare professionals confronting questions of conscience, medical ethics and participation.
The report concludes with five policy recommendations.
