Later this week, MPs will meet to debate the Assisted Dying Bill for the first time since it passed its first stage in Parliament last year.
In the months since that historic vote, several changes both large and small have been made to the bill introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.
However, the most important fact remains: it would give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to choose to end their life.
Leadbeater says hers is the only bill in the world with ‘three layers of scrutiny’ in the form of sign-off by two doctors and a High Court judge, and would offer the ‘safest choice’ for mentally competent adults at the end of their lives.
She has stressed the bill is capable of protecting against coercion.
Are you for or against the Assisted Dying Bill?
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I’m for it
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I’m against it
In November, MPs were given a free vote on the highly contentious and emotive issue.
It passed its second reading with a clear majority of 330 votes to 275 – though many MPs said they could change their decision in the future depending on what amendments are introduced.
Yesterday, a similar bill passed its initial stage in the Scottish Parliament, despite opposition from First Minister John Swinney and former leaders Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.
What is Assisted Dying?
This, and the language used, varies depending on who you ask.
Pro-change campaigners Dignity in Dying say that assisted dying allows a person with a terminal condition the choice to control their death if they decide their suffering is unbearable.
They argue that, along with good care, dying people who are terminally ill and mentally competent adults deserve the choice to control the timing and manner of their death.
But the campaign group Care Not Killing uses the terms ‘assisted suicide’ and ‘euthanasia’ to refer to the practice, and argues that the focus should be on ‘promoting more and better palliative care’ rather than changing the law.
The group says legalising assisted dying could ‘place pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a financial, emotional or care burden upon others’ and argue the disabled, elderly, sick or depressed could be especially at risk.
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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 has happened at Westminster?
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had said he was ‘committed’ to allowing a vote on legalising assisted dying should his party win the general election.
When her name was drawn in the lottery that decides who can introduce a Private Members’ Bill, Kim Leadbeater brought forward the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
After passing the first stage in the Commons, it went to committee stage where almost 600 amendments were considered and several were added, including one that would introduce a judge-led multi-disciplinary panel to assess applications.
Leadbeater said the changes have ‘significantly strengthened what was already the most robust assisted dying legislation’.
The bill is now in its report stage, and the next debate – though not a vote – will take place on Friday.
If it passes through its remaining stages and gains royal assent, it will apply only to England and Wales.
How did my MP vote on assisted dying?
You can find out how your MP voted in last year’s assisted dying debate by searching the government’s website here.
What about the rest of the UK?
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur has published a bill which if passed, will allow people living in Scotland with a terminal illness to be given help to end their life.
It is the third attempt to make assisted dying legal in Scotland after two bills were previously voted down.
On Tuesday, MSPs voted McArthur’s bill through its initial stage.
In March, the Isle of Man became the first part of the British Isles to approve the legalisation of assisted dying following a landmark vote in the capital of Douglas.
In its current state, the law will only apply to people who have lived on the Irish Sea island for five years or more who have a terminal illness with a life expectancy of no more than 12 months and who have a ‘settled intention’ to end their life.
Meanwhile, any move to legalise assisted dying in Northern Ireland would have to be passed by politicians in the devolved Assembly at Stormont.
Last May, Jersey’s parliament voted in favour of drawing up laws to establish an assisted dying service on the island for terminally ill people and, if the law is approved, the earliest it could come into effect would be spring 2027.
Who will qualify for the new bill?
Only terminally ill adults with less than six months to live who have a settled wish to end their lives would be eligible under the new law.
One of the other amendments introduced by Leadbeater during the committee stage increased the maximum time the government could take to implement assisted dying from two years to four years.
The private member’s bill would make it illegal for someone to persuade a person through dishonesty, coercion or pressure to declare they wanted to end their life or to induce someone to self-administer drugs to die.
Anyone found guilty of doing so would face a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
Ms Leadbeater said: ‘Throughout the process there are layers and layers of safeguards and protections which I believe will probably make it the most robust piece of legislation in the world.’
It is thought the shortest timeframe for the process from first making a declaration to ending a life would be around a month.
Terminally ill people who have been resident in England and Wales for at least 12 months would have to take the prescribed medication themselves.
Has the issue been voted on at Westminster before?
Not for almost a decade. An Assisted Dying Bill, which would have allowed some terminally ill adults to ask for medical help to end their life, went before the Commons in 2015 and was rejected by MPs.
There was also a bill proposed in the House of Lords during the 2021/2022 session which reached a second reading in the chamber, while a Westminster Hall debate on assisted dying took place in July 2022.
Which political figures have said they would vote for assisted dying?
Friday’s vote has been classified as a ‘free vote’, which means there will be no instructions from party whips and MPs will be free to vote according to their own conscience on the issue.
While many MPs are still undecided, a slim majority of Labour MPs are expected to vote in favour of the issue, with a number of prominent figures signalling their intent to do so.
With that in mind, here are how some prominent figures are expected to vote:
IN FAVOUR OF ASSISTED DYING
Keir Starmer – The PM has stayed largely silent on the issue but is expected to vote in favour of it, having previously said ‘I personally do think there are grounds for changing the law.’
Ed Miliband – The Energy Secretary has spoken strongly in favour of the bill and is the only former Labour leader to publicly endorse it. He said: ‘I will be voting for the assisted dying Bill. I know there are people who are in the late stages of terminal illnesses, and I think the current situation is rather cruel actually.’
Lisa Nandy – Another frontbencher in favour of the bill, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: ‘I want people to have the choice about how they’re treated at the end of their life.’
David Cameron – Lord Cameron is the first ex-PM to come out in favour of the Bill, despite voting against it in 2015. Writing in the Times, he said he has changed his mind after being given reassurances that vulnerable people will be protected from pressures to end their own life.
AGAINST ASSISTED DYING
Wes Streeting – The Health Secretary has turned heads with his staunch opposition to the Bill, claiming it doesn’t do enough to safeguardthe vulnerable. He said: ‘I’ve come down this time on voting against the Bill on the basis that I worry about palliative care, end-of-life care not being good enough to give people a real choice.’
Kemi Badenoch – The Tory leader has said she is broadly in favour of the Bill in principle, but will struggle to vote for it due to to concerns it is being rushed through Parliament. Speaking to the Independant, she said: ‘The NHS needs reform. We can’t deliver social care. Can we actually handle assisted suicide on top of all that?’
Nigel Farage – Reform leader Nigel Farage has indicted he will not be voting for the Bill, citing his time as an MEP and telling GB News it would take ‘a lot of convincing’ for him to change his mind.
Ed Davey – The Lib Dem leader has given his MPs a free vote on the issue but says he is ‘minded’ to vote against it, citing his experience caring for his dying mother and expressing a need to strengthen palliative and end-of-life care.
What are the views of the public?
This varies. Research by the Policy Institute and the Complex Life and Death Decisions group at King’s College London (KCL) in September suggested almost two-thirds of people in England and Wales want assisted dying to be legalised for terminally ill adults in the next five years.
But it showed the changeable nature of some people’s views, with some of those voicing support saying they could change their minds if they felt someone had been pressured into choosing an assisted death or had made the choice due to lack of access to care.
Overall, the polling found a fifth (20%) of people said they do not want assisted dying to be legalised in the next five years, while 63% said they do.
In a Guardian op-ed earlier this month, Ms Leadbeater said: ‘I have thought long and hard about these issues which I know are hugely emotive for many people.
‘The truth is that we have never been very comfortable discussing death in this country. But I am sure we all want the best for our relatives and those we care for as they come to the end of their lives.
‘The evidence from those places around the world that already have legislation of the kind I am proposing is that patients draw enormous comfort from simply knowing they have the right to choose how and when to end their lives, even if they eventually decide not to exercise it.’
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