We now have a quick email tool available to use to contact your MP, asking them to cast their final vote against Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill. As we have mentioned in previous blogs, we consider that this piece of legislation will change the whole landscape of care in a way that will detrimentally affect people with Down syndrome, as well as many other people.
This Friday, MPs will gather in Westminster, preparing to vote for or against the Assisted Dying Bill for the last time. After this, if the Bill progresses, the chance to stop assisted dying passes out of MPs hands.
It’s a critical time to reach out and let your MP know that you have urgent and serious concerns, and do not want them to vote in favour of the Bill. The upcoming date is:
Friday 20th June 2025: Final Commons Vote at the Third Reading
- The elected members of parliament who represent us will decide if they will let the Bill pass, and then responsibility to stop it or move it onwards passes over to the House of Lords.
- On this day your MP will vote for the final time on whether Assisted Dying will become legal in the UK.
Some important things to remember:
- MPs Daniel Francis and Sarah Olney who served on the Bill Committee have spoken out strongly at the recent Report Stage proceedings in Westminster, about how the Bill will affect people with intellectual disabilities – they claim that legitimate concerns are unaddressed and the Bill is unsafe for people with disabilities of any sort
- All proposed amendments to the Bill that would have safeguarded people with intellectual disabilities, including those with Down syndrome, were voted down by the majority pro-euthanasia Bill Committee
- Many major concerns have repeatedly emerged, with some MPs declaring openly that they will switch sides due to their concerns
- The vote looks like it will be very tight because of shifting opinion – and that’s why your communications to your MP could truly make a difference, even at the last minute
You can find the email tool here – it takes only seconds to send a letter to your MP. Thank you for all your efforts on this profoundly important issue.