TUV leader Jim Allister MP has strongly criticised the Assisted Dying Bill, warning it would overturn the fundamental principles of medicine, erode protections for the most vulnerable, and place coercive pressure on those already burdened by illness.
Mr Allister, who had prepared to speak during the recent debate but was unable to do so due to time constraints, said:
“This Bill represents a grotesque and dangerous contradiction. On the one hand, the state spends millions on suicide prevention. On the other, this Bill would turn doctors into agents of death and the state into a facilitator of suicide. It upends the settled moral equilibrium of our society.
“We tell the healthy that suicide is a tragedy to be averted — but this Bill would offer the terminally ill a poison potion, not a palliative care doctor. It doesn’t promote care; it promotes surrender.”
“The rejection of over 40 protective amendments at Committee Stage is very telling. The sponsors of this Bill rejected safeguards at every turn. They opposed even the requirement to prove a person has the mental capacity to make such a grave decision. Patients with dementia could qualify during brief moments of lucidity — despite the legal test under the Mental Capacity Act demanding far more than that.
“Even a person with Down Syndrome could find themselves offered assisted suicide by their doctor. That is not compassion — it is moral abdication. The rejection of amendments to protect minors and vulnerable adults speaks volumes.
“It is now being openly suggested that assisted suicide could save £60 million in healthcare costs. What message does that send to the sick and elderly who already feel like a burden? That their death is not only acceptable, but economically preferable?
“Doctor shopping is made easy under this legislation, and the so-called oversight panel has no power to compel evidence or even assess the patient directly. It’s a hollow safeguard.
“This Bill is not about choice — it is about coercion, abandonment, and death. It asks us to stop protecting the vulnerable and start facilitating their deaths. We must choose where we stand — for life, or for death. For care, or for killing. I urge every right-thinking MP to reject this shameful Bill.”