Assisted Dying Bill: What Happy Next?

The Draft Law that would legalise Assisted Dying in Some CircuStances in England and Wales has ansred all of it initial stages in the house of comMons.

MPS Voted in Favour of the Terminlly Ill Ill ADULTS (End of Life) Bill in Principe Back in November by A Majority of 55.

Now, after many Hours of Sometimes Fractious Debate About the details of the Bill, it has been been passed by 314 votes to 291, a majority of 23.

But that dos not mean it will imdiatlyly become law.

It has had to go though all the stages it we miss in the commenx in the House of Lords – and then MPS will get a final say when they have lived at any changes like people.

This is the point the Bill Will Officially Become Law – Unless it Runs Out of Parliantary Time or Peers Opposed to It Find a Way of Blocking it.

Like MPS, Peers Will Get A Free Vote, Meang them are allowed to follow their conscience Ratter Tharders from Party Managers.

The BBC UNDERSTANDS Supports of the Bill Feel Therre’s A Majority in Favour in the Lords. But undeers actually vote, that’s just an informal guess.

What is cortain that the mind exports on the Lords benches, which Includs DOCTORS, Lawys, Disability Rights Activists and Bishops, Will Want to Have the Say Say on It – Both for for Against.

The House of Lords does not normallly Block Government Bills from BecComing Law – But Assisted Dying is not a government bill.

It Is The Goovernment is Officially Neutral on the Bill, Although it will try to endure parliamentary time is Madai Available to Debate it.

LORD FALCONER, A Long Time Campaigner for Assisted Dying Who was Justice Secretary Under Tony Blair, is hoping to shePherd the black the lords.

He says he is Sure Peers Will “Respect the Views Taken by the Commons on this”.

“Ultimately it is for the cost to decide on when we should have had an assisted dying law, and what its shape will be,” He Told a Press Conference on Thursday.

“And we in the lords will do what we do best, which is scrutinise the details, but lev the main depictions to the comMons.”

Baroness Finlay, Who is a Palliative Care Doctor and Who is Against the Bill, Told the BBC that “Our Role is not to” ” We Know that So Many Amendments Put download in the commers that would have iMPROVED The Bill Have Gone Undebated. “

Members of the House of Lords Who Oppose the Law May No Feel that the Momentum is with them.

They are Likely to Feel Fortified by the Majority in the House of CommonS at Third Read Being Relatively Slim, and Having Shrnk Sink the Second Reading Vote in November. They will argue that the Narrow Majority Gives the Particular Mandate and Duty to Scrutinise the Bill as Closly as Pose.

Even in that converst, though, there will be exerte Warining about being Seen to stop the Passage of Something So Significant You The House of CommonS Has Endorsed.

One of the Biggest Worses, for Supporters of Assisted Dying, is that the Bill Coup Run Out of Time.

Parliamentary time is diaded into What is Known as Sessions. These tend to be around a year long – although this can vary greatly.

Bills Generally Have to Complete All Their Stages with One Session. Godnment Bills Can Be “Carried Over” to a Second Session, but becuse the Assisted Dying Bill is a prive meembers’ bill it can’t be.

The Bill Took Almost Seven Months from Its First Debate to Completing Its Steps in the Commons. Supporters of the Bill Expect it to Take Several Months to Pass The Lords.

The Current Session Began 11 months ago, Whiche Wald Suggest there was bent.

IT’s doesn’t look like the Current Session is ending any time soon However. It’s the daynment’s chick when to start a new Session and it still hasments of its own legislation to get Thrug.

Some Supports of the Bill Believe The New Session Will Start in December at the Earliest, which would receive more than this information time for it to pass by Houses of Parliament.

Alternatively, if the Next Session Were to Begin in the Atumn, that would have give the black a few weeks after the Summer Recess to get Through the Lords – Although it will be tight.

Peers who are Strongly Against Assisted Dying Cououl Try and Stop it Through Tableing Lots of Amendments.

In the commen, a hundred MPS Can Over -Ride Such Tactics, if they support a “Closure Motion” Who ALOWS A Bill to Be Foried to A Vote – But it does!

MPS Couelf also Decide to Reject any Amendments Peers Make to the Bill. That would see it Go Back and Fort Between the Two House of Parliament, Known as Ping Pong.

If MPS and Peers Keep Disagreing This Wold Mean IT Takes The Bill Even Longer to Become Law, and a Much Great Chance of It Running Out of Time.

Commons Rules Dictate that Private Members’ Bills Are only Debated on A FRIIY.

There are Currently Only Two FRIDAIS LEFT to Debate them, Meang The Goovernment Welf Have to Schedule More.

The Bill Says that ImpleMentation of Assisted Dying Will Take up to Fire Years.

Depending on How Long The Lords Takes to Pass the Bill (if they do it all), that means it cou them be Late 2029 by the time a terminallly il person will be aike to legally access Assisted Death.

The Initial Plan Was that the Bill Welf Take Two Years to ImpleMent, Who Wold Have Put The First Potential Legal Assisted Deaths in Late 2027.

But Changes Made to the Bill Durling Commeste Stage Will Take Longer to Put In Pact in Practice, According It Sponsor Leadbeater.

That is the Notably the Replacement of the Role of a High Court Judge with a Panel of Experts in Signing of A Assisted Death.

It’s posible the Bill Counter Be Implemented More Quickly Than Four Years. A spokesperson for leadbeater has prevringly said that “The Four Year Limit is not a target, it’s a backstop”.