The assisted suicide bill has run into major hurdles within the House of Lords and opponents proceed to hope that it’ll not enter into British law.
Back in June, MPs within the House of Commons voted narrowly in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults Bill, by a margin of 314 to 291. Last Friday the bill reached the Lords, which is under no constitutional obligation to pass the controversial laws.
Traditionally the Lords makes no serious opposition to government bills that fulfil a manifesto pledge. However, the Terminally Adults Bill is a non-public member’s bill brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.
Legalising assisted suicide was not a part of Labour’s manifesto and the Labour government itself is split on the difficulty. Prime Minister Keir Starmer voted in favour of the bill, while his Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, voted against.
During Friday’s debate within the Lord’s greater than two thirds of peers who spoke did so against the bill, and only a 3rd spoke in favour. Opposition to the bill got here from across the party divide, with former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, Labour peer Baroness Keeley and crossbencher and Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson all speaking out against the proposals.
In her speech, May suggested to the chamber that language matters.
“It just isn’t an assisted dying bill. It is an assisted suicide bill,” she said.
“As a society we imagine suicide is mistaken. The government has a national suicide prevention strategy. We bemoan the variety of young people who find themselves lured into committing suicide by social media and what they read on the web.
“This week is world suicide awareness week. Suicide is mistaken. But this Bill effectively says that suicide is okay. What message does that send to our society? Suicide just isn’t okay. Suicide is mistaken. This Bill is mistaken and for my part it shouldn’t pass.”
Such was the opposition to the bill that each opponents and supporters imagine it’s increasingly likely it’ll not develop into law.
Lord Jackson of Peterborough, said, “This sort of opposition at Second Reading is a transparent indication of the direction the Bill is heading. The strength of concern voiced today makes it increasingly unlikely that this Bill will pass at Third Reading, and momentum is clearly against it.”
A senior government figure told Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor at Sky that “the probabilities of it [the bill] passing are worse than 50/50”.
Responding to the controversy, Caroline Ansell, policy director of Christian campaign group CARE, said it was “heartening to listen to Peers from across the House of Lords being so strongly critical of the laws”.
“Not only is the bill mistaken in principle, it is usually poorly drafted and this was commented on by many. Lord Carlile gave it a ‘D minus’,” she said.
“There are, for instance, significant unanswered questions on how it’ll be implemented and the best way it bypasses Parliament by giving an excessive amount of power to civil servants and ministers.
“As we sit up for the second day of second reading in every week’s time, we urge peers to shut the door on this irredeemably flawed bill and as an alternative challenge the federal government to properly fund truly compassionate, life-affirming types of support.”
The debate continues on Friday.
 The assisted suicide bill has run into major hurdles within the House of Lords and opponents proceed to hope that it'll not enter...){kind=link}