Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Report Stage: Amendment (a) to New Clause 10

MPs voted on 16 May 2025 on amendment (a) to New Clause 10 of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Report Stage. The amendment, tabled by Rebecca Paul, would have allowed employers who chose not to provide assisted dying services to prohibit their own employees from participating in those services during working hours. It was defeated by 279 votes to 243. The vote concerned the scope of conscientious objection protections built into the Bill. New Clause 10, tabled by the Bill's sponsor Kim Leadbeater, already provides that no person is under any duty to participate in assisted dying and creates employment protections against detriment for those who decline. The defeated amendment would have extended this by giving employers who opt out the explicit power to bar their staff from taking part in assisted dying services while working for them. Opponents argued this would risk blocking the sharing of patient records and safeguarding information between healthcare professionals, potentially harming terminally ill patients who may receive care from multiple providers. The Bill does not follow standard party lines, and the division reflected that cross-cutting character. Among Labour MPs, 118 voted for the amendment and 178 against, with 65 no vote recorded. Conservatives split more heavily in favour, with 75 voting aye and only 15 voting no. Liberal Democrats voted predominantly against by 53 to 12. Reform UK split 6 to 2 in favour, while all four Green MPs voted against. The result keeps the conscientious objection provisions as Leadbeater had framed them, without the additional employer-level restriction.