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Peers back assisted dying bill - but battles lie ahead
The controversial assisted dying bill is still very much alive, having received a second reading in the House of Lords without a vote.
But that doesn't tell the whole story. Day two of debate on the bill in the Lords was just as passionate and emotional as the first, a week earlier.
And now comes the hard part for supporters of Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, as opponents attempt to make major changes in the months ahead. The Lords' chamber was again packed for the debate, which this time began at 10am and lasted nearly six hours.
In all, during 13 hours of debate over two days, nearly 200 peers spoke. According to one estimate, over both days of the debate only around 50 peers spoke in favour of the bill and considerably more than 100 against, with only a handful neutral.
The bill proposes allowing terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. Scotland's parliament has already passed a similar law.
In a safeguard introduced in the Commons, an application would have to be approved by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior lawyer and psychiatrist. The bill's sponsor in the Lords, Charlie Falconer, said while peers have "a job of work to do.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
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