A new poll indicates legalising assisted dying is a low priority for the British public, with far more people saying the government should focus on reducing NHS waiting lists as Labour's assisted dying bill prepares for scrutiny in the House of Lords.
The Whitestone Insight survey of 2,090 adults found just 13% named legalising assisted dying as their top priority out of 11 policy options. By contrast, 70% said cutting waiting lists should be the government's priority, 54% prioritised adequate ambulance services and 44% wanted improvements to cancer care. Some 63% agreed with Health Secretary Wes Streeting's comment that money spent implementing assisted dying could be better used elsewhere. The poll was commissioned by campaign group Care Not Killing.
The survey results come as Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is due for its first debate among peers. MPs voted in favour of the bill in June, and peers are expected to hold an initial vote on 19 September, after which amendments may be tabled and a final vote scheduled at a later date.
Supporters of the bill say it would give terminally ill adults a legal route to assisted dying under strict safeguards. Opponents have warned of potential risks to vulnerable groups and called for robust protections and improved palliative care before any change in the law.
Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, said the poll showed "patients neither want nor need assisted dying, instead they want the government to fix our broken NHS." He urged peers to take time to scrutinise the legislation, to strengthen what he described as weak safeguards, and to ensure universal access to high-quality palliative care before any change is enacted. "If these problems can't be corrected, then peers must ignore pressure from campaigners driven by an extreme ideology and vote down the draft legislation," he said.
More than 50 leading psychiatrists have also written to members of the House of Lords expressing "profound concern" about the bill. Their letter warned that legalising assisted suicide could produce a "seismic shift" in the role of psychiatrists, changing their duties from preventing suicide to assisting it and undermining trust between patients and clinicians.
Parliamentary consideration in the Lords will determine whether the bill is amended, delayed or passed on to its next stages. Peers are expected to debate the legislation and its safeguards in detail, and to weigh arguments about access to palliative and mental health services, protections for disabled and elderly people, and the logistical and financial implications of implementing assisted dying provisions.
The poll's findings add to a public-policy debate that has split opinion across political and medical communities, with campaigners, medical bodies and advocacy groups seeking to influence peers as they prepare to scrutinise the bill. The House of Lords' timetable will set the immediate path forward for the legislation and any subsequent votes.