The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has urged MPs to reject the assisted dying bill as it returns to Parliament on Friday. 

Archbishop Richard Moth is instead calling for “an improvement in compassionate, high-quality palliative care”.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow adults in England and Wales with six months or less to live the opportunity to seek an assisted death, subject to agreement with two doctors and an expert panel. It is being re-introduced after running out of time in the previous parliamentary session. 

Ahead of the second reading vote, the Archbishop of Westminster said: “This bill is wrong in principle and is also deeply flawed. If passed, it could lead to vulnerable people feeling pressured into ending their lives.”

He warned that the bill has been rejected by several professional bodies and disability rights groups; that it “undermines freedom of conscience for medical professionals and care workers”.

“The inadequate and uneven provision of palliative care across the country has been recognised during this debate, even by the Prime Minister. To genuinely help the terminally ill we need an improvement in compassionate, high-quality palliative care, and proper hospice funding. I urge MPs to prevent this flawed bill from succeeding,” Archbishop Richard concluded. 

Six Christian organisations have united with their supporters in prayer on the eve of the vote. The Evangelical Alliance, CARE, Christian Medical Fellowship, Christian Institute and Affinity are hosting a joint event to show collective opposition to the bill.