What is the assisted dying bill and what could happen next after vote?

What is the assisted dying bill and what could happen next after vote? Childline founder and former broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen has once again added her voice to calls for the law to be changed - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Members of Parliament are set to decide on the future of assisted dying legislation during a further vote this Friday. Prime minister Andy Burnham has already stated he will abstain from voting on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill so as not to "unduly influence the debate". Prominent figures remain divided over the proposal: former broadcaster and Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen has renewed her support for reform, whereas actor Liz Carr forms part of a campaign urging MPs to reject the proposed law due to safeguarding risks. Under the proposed terms, terminally ill adults in England and Wales expected to live for under six months could request an assisted death, provided it receives authorisation from two medical practitioners alongside a specialist panel. Although approved twice previously by the House of Commons, the measures stalled in the House of Lords this April. Proponents denounced a "denial of democracy" after peers submitted hundreds of amendments, effectively filibustering the proposed legislation. Here we take a look at how we got here and what is to come. What is happening on Friday? The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is back in the Commons. MPs will debate the legislation and a vote will likely take place mid-afternoon. It is a private member’s Bill (PMB), also known as a backbench Bill, so is not Government-backed. The Government has a neutral position on it and MPs will vote according to their consciences, rather than along party lines. Did the Bill not run out of time earlier this year? It did. The Bill, previously brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, fell in April, having run out of time to become law before Parliament was prorogued that month, having effectively been talked out. It had previously passed two votes in the House of Commons, in 2024 and 2025. The second vote saw the majority in favour of the Bill narrow to 23 from 55. On that occasion, 14 MPs switched from voting in favour to against, with some arguing the dropping of the previously promised High Court judge safeguard had “drastically weakened” the proposals. What happened in the House of Lords? Peers faced accusations of filibustering – or delaying – the Bill after more than 1,200 amendments were put forward in the House of Lords, with more than 800 of those tabled or sponsored by seven peers. Opponents at the time branded the Bill “hopelessly flawed” while supporters accused them of a “denial of democracy”. So, how is it coming back? Labour MP Lauren Edwards has reintroduced the Bill to Parliament. She said people were “quite rightly frustrated by the process not being seen to conclusion in the last Parliament” and that she “felt a responsibility to those people who really wanted this legislation to be brought in”. She has appealed to her colleagues in the Commons to vote for the Bill “so that we can respect the will of the chamber and we can have it go through the usual processes in the House of Lords, just like any other form of legislation”. What does the Bill propose? The proposed legislation puts forward a change to the law allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. What are opponents saying? A new disability rights coalition called Assist Us To Live – backed by actress Liz Carr and comedian Rosie Jones – has urged MPs to vote down the Bill, calling instead for reform of social care alongside better funding for palliative care to help people at the end of their lives. In an open letter last month to MPs, the group said they were “writing to call for a halt to the legislative process around assisted dying until disabled and terminally-ill people have as much support to live as this Bill would provide for us to die”. Opposition to the Bill has also been voiced by the Catholic Church and the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally. Medical colleges, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), have also raised “serious concerns” about the Bill, saying there are “too many unanswered questions about the safeguarding of people with mental illness”. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has made clear its “significant concerns” about the Bill, saying any such legislation must ensure equitable access to high-quality end-of-life care for all and robust protections for the vulnerable against coercion, among other safeguards. What process must the Bill go through now? The legislation is back to square one and must pass through the normal stages in the House of Commons. This begins with Friday’s vote, followed by further debate in committee, debate and votes on amendments at report stage, and then another vote at what is known as Third Reading. It would then move to the Lords for further debate and amendments, before returning to the Commons for a final vote. As a PMB, it will only be subject to debates and votes on Fridays. Mondays to Thursdays are reserved for Government business. Even if the Bill is approved, an implementation period has previously been agreed, meaning it could be four years after a law was passed before the first assisted death would take place. What if the Bill ended up being blocked in the Lords? Supporters have suggested the Parliament Acts could be invoked to override objections from peers. The rarely-used legislation allows for Bills that have been backed by the Commons in two successive sessions, but rejected by peers, to pass into law without Lords approval. In a letter on the eve of the Bill’s return to the Commons, one backer and one opponent suggested MPs are “potentially being presented with a ‘this or nothing’ ultimatum”, warning of an “extraordinary risk” of the Bill being forced through. Bill backers MPs Sarah Champion and Kit Malthouse defended the Parliament Acts as “one of the foundations of our democracy, intended only to ensure that the unelected Lords cannot repeatedly block legislation passed by the elected House”. But they suggested there is “no reason for the Parliament Acts to apply”, and added “it is not their intention that they should do so”, insisting the legislation will follow the “usual” process in Parliament. What is the current law? Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. In Scotland, it is not a specific criminal offence but assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to being charged with murder or other offences. What is happening with assisted dying in other nearby jurisdictions? In March, legislation that would have made Scotland the first nation in the UK to back assisted dying was defeated at Holyrood. Jersey’s States Assembly passed its draft Assisted Dying Law earlier this year and on July 9 it was granted royal assent. Only certain sections of the law – allowing for the service’s set-up and the establishment of a committee to approve guidance – have come into force. The parts allowing people to request assisted deaths have not yet come into force and it is expected the full law will be in place in autumn 2027, meaning that is the earliest the first assisted death could take place on the island. The Isle of Man’s assisted dying Bill is now unlikely to get royal assent before October, despite the Tynwald becoming the first parliament across the UK and Crown Dependencies to agree a framework for assisted dying back in March 2025. It is thought the implementation period for an assisted dying service to be in place could be up to two years after a law is in force, meaning it could be late 2028 by the time the first assisted death takes place on the island. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments [Image text:] VOTE FOR DIGNITY VOTE FOR THE LEADBEATER BILL ASSIST IT WON'T CAMPAIGN FOR DIGNITY USTO BE OUR INDYING. 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