Kim Leadbeater’s Bill passed its next stage in the Commons (Image: Getty)
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons today.
MPs voted 330 to 275, majority 55, to approve Kim Leadbeater’s Bill at second reading.
Opposition and pro-change campaigners had gathered outside Parliament from early on Friday.
The four-and-a-half hour debate in the Commons heard arguments from MPs about a need to give choice to dying people.
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What happens next?
The bill to legalise assisted dying will now move to further debates and votes in the House of Commons and Lords in 2025.
Kim Leadbeater’s private members’ bill will now proceed to the Committee Stage – followed by the report stage and third reading in the Commons.
It will then move to the House of Lords where it will repeat this process.
But if the two Houses fail to agree on the wording of the bill, they send the bill back and forth – called ping pong – responding to each other’s proposed changes.
When both chambers are in agreement, it can gain Royal Assent – approval from the King – and become law.
The Upper House is unlikely to bash down laws agreed by MPs in the Commons.
When will assisted dying be legal from?
This means it could be between six months to one year before assisted dying becomes available in Britain.
It has cross-party support and Government backing which significantly increases its chances of making it onto the statue books.
Ms Leadbeater has suggested an assisted dying service would not be up and running for around another two years from the point the law was passed, with “even more consultation to make sure we get it right” at that stage.
She believes “this Bill will receive more scrutiny and more discussion and more debate, probably, than any piece of legislation”.
Ms Leadbeater has suggested the service would not be up and running for around another two years from the point the law was passed, with “even more consultation to make sure we get it right” at that stage.
Assisted Dying – The Law
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, assisting a suicide is a crime and those convicted could face up to 14 years in prison.
In England, euthanasia is illegal and considered manslaughter or murder, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The Suicide Act 1961 also makes it illegal to encourage or assist a suicide, a law which is also present in Wales.
In Scotland, helping a person to die could lead to prosecution for an offence such as culpable homicide.
And in Northern Ireland, assisting someone to take their own life or attempt to take their life is illegal and punishable by up to 14 years in prison.