Archbishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, has issued a statement highlighting the many dangers of the Private Members’ Bill that seeks to legalise assisted suicide:
“The Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is expected to take place in the House of Commons on 11 September. Assisted suicide is a matter of life and death, and it is wholly unsatisfactory that this divisive and flawed bill is being put to parliament again as a Private Members’ Bill without the key issues being addressed. The reduced majority at Third Reading in the Commons and the debate in the Lords showed how flawed the Bill is. Read more.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is back in the House of Commons and seeks to legalise assisted suicide. It will have its Second Reading and vote on Friday, 11 September 2026.
Please write to your MP to make your voice heard and oppose the Bill.
“This bill is wrong in principle,” says Archbishop Richard Moth, President of the Bishops’ Conference, “It is also deeply flawed and, if passed, could lead to vulnerable people feeling pressured into ending their lives. The Bill has a serious lack of protection for health and social care staff and risks putting many wonderful hospices and care homes in the position of no longer being able to operate. I urge you to write to your Members of Parliament to petition them to vote against the Bill at Second Reading.”
You can support the Archbishop’s call and contact your MP now as a matter of urgency. Even if you have already done so in the past, please speak up and voice your opposition. The charity Right to Life UK has provided a simple online mechanism to do this. Use the form below to enter your postcode, make sure the suggested text suits your viewpoint and submit your message to ask your MP to stop this flawed Bill progressing through parliament.
For more information and resources, visit our dedicated section.
Archbishop Richard Moth, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has offered his congratulations to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham:
“As President of the Bishops’ Conference, and on behalf of the Catholic community in our countries, I offer my warm congratulations to Andy Burnham on becoming leader of the Labour Party and now Prime Minister.” Read more.
Abbot Hugh Allan joins us again this month for an episode of At the Foot of the Cross that amplifies the Bishops’ call for Catholics to contact their MPs to ask them to vote against making assisted suicide law. The Bill’s Second Reading and vote takes place on Friday, 11 September 2026.
It’s also very much ‘in with the new’ this month. The UK has a new Prime Minister in Andy Burnham, and the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton has a new Bishop. Fr Stephen Wang, former Rector of the Venerable English College in Rome, will be Ordained the Sixth Bishop of the diocese on Monday, 19 October at 12 noon. You can hear a message from Bishop-elect Stephen Wang at the end of our podcast. Read more.
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