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The Catholic Union is urging people across our community of faith to contact their MP in advance of MPs debating the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday, 16 May. The Catholic Church supports and upholds a compassionate response to those in the last stages of their life and, consistent with the nature of her mission, is clear that we cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it.

The legalisation of assisted suicide undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life. For the terminally ill patient, "incurable" cannot mean that care has come to an end. The Catholic Church accompanies those suffering and nearing the end of their lives with hope and affection, in the knowledge that their life is precious until the very last breath. In a statement issued by the Chair of the Catholic Union Charitable Trust, Professor Peter Hindmarsh said:

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"Current drug regimens used in physician-assisted suicide via self-administered lethal drugs are unlicensed, and unregulated with little pharmacological understanding of efficacy and safety at high doses. The bill bypasses regulatory safeguards, exempts lethal doses and combinations of drugs from licensing, from adverse event reporting and Coroner referral, thus setting a very dangerous precedent in clinical practice.

"There has been little discussion about issues relating to prescribing and administration of lethal drugs as well as the clinical outcomes. It is important for MPs to understand that technical difficulties and complications frequently arise rather than the anticipated peaceful death. By way of example, in Oregon in 2023, patients took between 3 and 137 minutes to die.

"As it stands, the Bill proposes that the Secretary of State for Health would approve the drugs. This is contrary to all established practices for drug approvals and bypasses the established safety and regulatory framework that governs all other medicines in the UK. We encourage you to share these with your MP who has the incredibly difficult job of deciding whether this poorly drafted bill should pass."

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The Catholic Union highlights significant concerns about the bill including:

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‍Drug Licensing and Safety Monitoring

• The Bill would allow lethal combinations and doses of drugs, that have not undergone clinical trials and not been through Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approval processes, to be authorised by the Secretary of State without formal approval and licensing.
• These drugs would not be subject to the usual safety monitoring or adverse event reporting, despite reports from other jurisdictions of very common events including vomiting, seizures, prolonged death and even re-awakening.
• This departs sharply from how all other medicines are regulated in the UK.

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‍No research on whether people who take lethal doses of drugs have a good death

• In the few jurisdictions that have published clinical outcomes, around 10% of Assisted dying patients experienced "side effects" such as vomiting, seizures, prolonged time to death or reawakening.
• A controlled trial is needed to evidence what drugs, at what dose and in which combinations achieve the speedy, pain-free death promised in the Bill.
• Assisted dying should be compared with fully funded Palliative care or NHS care as usual, e.g. drugs used, clinical outcomes, patient and carer satisfaction.

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Exemption from coroner scrutiny

• Deaths from assisted dying under the Bill would not be referred to the coroner.
• Diagnostic errors and cover-up of medical errors or adverse events could go undetected.
• This departs from long-standing requirements to investigate any death involving drugs or medical intervention.
• Removing coroner involvement undermines transparency, accountability, and public trust.

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References:

Hollins S, Lishman S, Starling G, Zinchenko R. Untested, unlicensed, unregulated: Prescribing and oversight issues in Physician Assisted Dying/Suicide. BMJ Support Palliat Care. Forthcoming 2025
Worthington A, Finlay I, Regnard C. Efficacy and safety of drugs used for ‘assisted dying’. Br Med Bull. 2022 Mar 1;142(1):15
Zworth M, Saleh C, Ball I, Kalles G, Chkaroubo A, Kekewich M, et al. Provision of medical assistance in dying: a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2020 Jul 1;10(7):e036054. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036054.