MPs will vote again on proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales on Friday. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow adults with fewer than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life. This would be subject to certain safeguards, including requiring the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
Labour MP Lauren Edwards, who has brought forward an identical bill to the previous attempt, says she wants to ask the House of Lords to "finish the job". The last effort to change the law ran out of time to clear all the necessary stages in Parliament. Proposals tabled by Labour's Kim Leadbeater in 2024 to legalise assisted dying cleared the House of Commons on 20 June last year with a majority of 23.
But it did not clear all its stages in the Lords, with peers tabling more than 1,200 amendments. Supporters of the bill accused some peers of using delaying tactics to block the proposals, while critics argued it did not have sufficient safeguards to protect vulnerable people. From , what is known as a second reading debate will take place - which gives MPs the opportunity to discuss the main principles of the bill.
The debate cannot run beyond , and a vote is expected before that cut-off time. Both sides expect the result to be close. "It's on a knife edge," one of those closely involved told the BBC.
Opponents believe support for the bill has weakened since MPs last considered it. But they are not confident they have the numbers to win the vote. Supporters and those opposed believe the outcome will come down to who turns up on Friday, a day when many MPs are typically in their constituencies rather than in Westminster.
Several MPs the BBC spoke to despaired that such a significant social change could hinge on their colleagues' diary commitments. "I can't tell someone not to go to their sister's wedding," said one MP leading efforts to persuade backers of the bill to vote. Others have been convincing MPs on a planned trip to Ukraine to change their flights in order to be present.
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