Current Bioethics Issues

This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2026 edition of the Social Issues Bulletin.

Scotland rejects assisted suicide  

After five years of debate, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, brought forward by Mr Liam McArthur MSP, was defeated on 17 March 2026 by 69 votes to 57 in the Scottish Parliament. The Bill was also opposed by the leader of the SNP, Scottish First Minister John Swinney; Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar; and the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Russell Findlay. They were joined by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and by former First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf. In addition, dozens of major medical bodies and organisations representing the most vulnerable in Scottish society came out in opposition to the Bill.

During the Scottish Parliament’s final debate on assisted suicide, a large number of MSPs from across the political spectrum came to the conclusion that assisted suicide was an extremely unsafe and dangerous procedure, deciding that it would undermine the equal and inherent value and worth of all human life which is necessary for a civilised society to survive. It would also have put the most vulnerable and weak persons in society at an unacceptable risk.

England and Wales reject assisted suicide 

On 11 September 2026, the Westminster Parliament rejected assisted suicide by 286 votes to 270. This followed the decision on 14 June 2026, by Ms Lauren Edwards MP, to bring back legislation mirroring the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill approved by the House of Commons in 2025 to legalise assisted suicide in England Wales. This is because the previous Bill (introduced by Kim Leadbeater MP)  did not complete its passage through the House of Lords in April 2026. This was because an exceptional number of amendments prolonged scrutiny to the extent that time ran out. As a result, Ms Edwards MP indicated that she wanted to ‘finish the job’.

By reintroducing the same legislation without changes, Ms Edwards MP had hoped to pave the way for the use of the Parliament Act to overcome resistance in the House of Lords if peers rejected the measure again. Normally, a Bill can only become law once both Houses of Parliament have agreed on its final text. However, the Parliament Act – used only seven times in the past 100 years – allows legislation that has been passed in identical form by the Commons in two successive parliamentary sessions to become law without the agreement of the Lords.

In the end, because the House of Commons rejected the Bill for similar reasons as those presented in the Scottish Parliament, no more procedures are expected for the duration of this Parliament.

France legalises assisted suicide and euthanasia

On 15 July 2026, members of the French Parliament voted by 291 to 241 in favour of a Bill supporting assisted suicide and euthanasia, despite it having been rejected on three occasions by the Senate, the upper chamber of the French legislature. The new legislation means that France joins a small number of countries (including the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada) that have legalised assisted suicide and/or euthanasia.

The new legislation provides that adults can end their lives in France if they are affected by a serious, incurable, and life-threatening condition that has reached an advanced or terminal stage. To qualify, the individual must be experiencing persistent physical or psychological suffering that is either intolerable or cannot be adequately relieved by treatment.

A patient would be required to express their wish voluntarily and clearly to a physician, who would then assess the request and reach a decision within 15 days following consultations with relevant healthcare professionals. Subsequently, after a mandatory two-day reflection period, the individual would be expected to self-administer the prescribed lethal substance (assisted suicide). However, if they were physically incapable of doing so, the medication could be administered by a doctor or nurse (euthanasia).¹

On the 18th of August 2026, France’s Constitutional Council approved the legislation in its entirety, while indicating that several aspects required further clarification. Among these was the ‘conscience clause’, which would grant healthcare professionals the right to opt-out of participation in the procedure on grounds of conscience.²

Genetically modified pig kidney successful in patient for 271 days

In July 2026, it was announced that a kidney from a genetically modified pig has reportedly functioned successfully in a US patient for 271 days, setting a new record. It served as a temporary solution until a human donor kidney became available and spared the patient from undergoing months of hospital-based blood-filtering dialysis treatment.

In this regard, biomedical researchers are continuing to develop xenotransplantation, which is the transplantation of organs from one species to another, as a potential solution to the persistent shortage of donor organs. In the USA, approximately 100,000 patients are awaiting a kidney transplant, yet only about 25,000 kidney transplants are performed annually. In the UK, more than 7,000 people remain on the waiting list for a donor kidney. 

Pigs are widely regarded as the most suitable animals for xenotransplantation because their organs are similar in size to those of humans, and they have been extensively studied through decades of pig farming.

The pigs used for these transplants have undergone genetic modification to make their organs more compatible with the human body. This process involves (1) removing certain pig cell characteristics that trigger immune rejection, (2) introducing human genes that help disguise the transplanted tissue from the recipient’s immune system, and (3) disabling viruses embedded within pig DNA to reduce the risk of infection.

The pig organ eventually failed for reasons yet to be determined. As a result, the patient had to resume dialysis treatment until a suitable human donor kidney became available.³

Legalisation of self-abortions up to birth in England and Wales

Unfortunately, on 18 March 2026, Baroness Monckton’s amendment to overturn the possibility for pregnant women to self-administer abortion up to birth was rejected by the House of Lords by 185 to 148 as part of the Crime and Policing Bill for England and Wales. 

Moreover, Baroness Stroud’s amendment to reinstate in-person consultations with a medical professional prior to a self-administered abortion taking place at home was also rejected by 191 to 119.

This brings forward one of the most significant changes to UK abortion legislation since 1967, when abortion was first made possible. As part of the Crime and Policing Bill, the possibility for women to self-administer an abortion in England and Wales will make it more likely that they will have their own abortions at home in very inadequate circumstances. It also means that it would no longer be illegal for women to self-administer their own abortions for any reason, including sex-selective purposes, and at any point up to, and during, birth.

Proposal to suspend UK legislation relating to embryology

In the 2026 King’s Speech, new powers to suspend prohibitions relating to embryonic research were included in the creation of sandboxing powers as part of the Regulating for Growth Bill. These proposed sandboxes would ‘theoretically’ limit any physical, biotechnological, ethical (or any other kind of) outburst while hopefully limiting the damage outside the box. The accompanying briefing notes to the King’s Speech indicates: “These sandboxing powers will be legal powers to allow existing rules to be temporarily relaxed, under strict controls, to test new products and technologies in real-world settings. This will support the UK to unlock growth from emerging technologies where current regulatory frameworks create barriers, with a focus on the Industrial Strategy’s growth-driving sectors, but also enable citizens to benefit (for example from accelerated access to medical treatments).” 

This means that current legislation under the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and 2008 could be ‘suspended’ so that any kind of research which may ‘accelerated access to medical treatments’ would become possible. But this would also mean that: 

‘Sandbox’ legislation would be developed without the general public understanding what it really represents, which is completely undemocratic.

The development of embryonic models would be possible without the safeguard of legislation. Similarly, the creation of artificial sperm and eggs and the generation of certain human-nonhuman living combinations with, for example, entirely human organs (chimeras) for transplantation, would become possible without appropriate democratic control.

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1. Paul Kirby, ‘French MPs Approve Assisted-Dying Law with Strict Rules after Years of Argument’, BBC News, 15 July 2026, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg7g2z4pv3o. ↩︎
2. Jon Henley, ‘France’s “Aid in Dying” Law Comes into Effect after Constitutional Approval’, World News, The Guardian, 19 August 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/19/france-assisted-dying-law-comes-into-effect. ↩︎
3. James Gallagher, ‘Pig Kidney Works in Human Body for 271 Days – Is This the Future of Organ Transplants?’, BBC News, 3 September 2026, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c305qn2jeggo. ↩︎