The assisted dying bill, mired in over a thousand amendments in the House of Lords, is approaching its expiry date. Although passed in the House of Commons in June last year, if it does not get through the second chamber by the end of the parliamentary session in May, it will automatically fail. For supporters, the auspices are poor: of the bill’s 59 clauses, only one has been fully discussed.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the bill’s sponsor in the Lords, has noted that it has “absolutely no chance” of passing without a “fundamental change” in peers’ approach. He has accused a “minority” of filibustering to talk the bill out of time, an allegation echoed by Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley, who first introduced it to the Commons as a private member’s bill.
