'I am still opposed' says DUP MP as assisted dying bill to come before Commons again in resurrected form

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said that his position on the bill remains unchanged: he opposes it, as do over 90% of people who have written to him on the subject – but whether MPs can halt the proposed law is too 'close to call'. Co Down-based campaigner Gavin Walker plans to travel to a rally in favour of the bill this Friday, and wants to ensure Northern Ireland is not left out of the debate on the 'compassionate' law change. Meanwhile the UK-wide campaign group The Christian Institute has questioned how anyone could describe the planned law in those terms. The bill is formally known as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, though is colloquially called the Assisted Dying Bill. It was originally introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater as a private member's bill – that is, a bill brought by an individual MP, not the goverment. In short, the bill envisaged letting people apply for state help to die if they are aged 18 or over and are expected to die within six months. They would have to make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, and two doctors must be satisfied the person is eligible and that they have not been pressured. The dying person would have to take the fatal medication themselves. The bill ran into stiff opposition, and though it passed the House of Commons by just 314 votes to 291 in June last year, it ultimately ran out of time: the bill was introduced in the 2024/26 parliamentary session, and this session expired in April with the bill unenacted. It has however been brought back again, under the same name and as a private member's bill, this time by Labour MP Lauren Edwards. It was introduced to Parliament on July 16, but it will get its second reading – which is the first real chance MPs get to debate it – this Friday. It will apply to England and Wales, though there are calls for similar measures in NI too. Mr Campbell, MP for East Londonderry, said that he has had in excess of 100 letters and emails about the newly-incarnated edition of the bill alone. He said 'well in excess' of 90% of them are opposed to the bill. Under the bill's old incarnation, 'a majority' of his mail had been opposed to it – 'but this time it is overwhelmingly against'. "The last time, it was very close,' he said of the Commons vote. 'And of course there's been a number of by-elections since that, and the new Prime Minister doesn't seem to be as favourably disposed towards this type of bill as his predecessor is. "It is very close to call. "I'll be voting in the same way as previously: that will be against the bill and in favour of greater palliative care for end of life.' Gavin Walker, chairman of the group My Death My Decision (Northern Ireland), said: 'We are travelling to London to bring a message directly to the doorstep of Parliament: compassion should know no borders. "People in Northern Ireland deserve the same fundamental rights to an open, respectful and evidence-based dialogue to determine their choices at the end of their lives as anyone else in the UK. "The most recent Northern Ireland Life and Times survey shows that public support for the introduction of assisted dying legislation here is overwhelming across all communities [roughly 70% say it definately or probably should be allowed], yet political inaction continues to trap suffering individuals in impossible situations. "We are standing alongside advocates from across the UK to demand that politicians stop dragging their feet and work with the community they serve to deliver an evidence-based law with robust safeguards." Simon Calvert, spokesman for the Christian Institute, said: 'What is compassionate about helping a sick person ingest fatal poison? "And what kind of choice is it when the state offers you suicide instead of care? "MPs are increasingly seeing through the manipulative rhetoric of groups like 'My Death My Decision' and recognising that the suicide bill is unworkable and dangerous. "Let's hope they vote it down on Friday.'