Commons to Lords: the timeline for the progress of the assisted dying bill
The bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales begins its next parliamentary phase this month, when a committee of MPs chosen by the bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, begins gathering evidence.
MPs voted in favor of introducing the Assisted Dying Bill at the end of November, but there are still significant hurdles in the House of Commons and the Lords before it becomes law.
The bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons with a majority of 55 votes – although dozens of MPs have said they might change their minds and vote against the bill unless changes are made to it in the coming parliamentary phase. The bill would allow assisted dying for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live.
January-April
The bill moves to the committee stage, where MPs go through the bill line by line and discuss possible amendments. Leadbeater has tabled a House of Commons motion to allow the committee to make submissions and hold hearings in public, which is not the norm.
The government has also assigned two ministers to the bill: Health Minister Stephen Kinnock and Justice Secretary Sarah Sackman, both of whom voted in favor of the bill at second reading. However, the government remains technically neutral on the bill and there will be a free vote at all subsequent stages.
The committee will consist of twelve Labor MPs, four Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats and one Plaid Cymru MP. There are nine MPs who are opposed to the bill and eleven MPs who are in favor of it.
The government is likely to propose a number of changes to the legislation, although these may come in Leadbeater’s name.
Changes likely to be proposed include:
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Banning assisted dying from being raised primarily by doctors and the discussion about it being led by the patient, a change likely to be met with resistance from the British Medical Association.
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A process of revision or reversal, to allay the fear that victims of coercive control will have no recourse.
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Terms such as “dishonesty,” “coercion,” and “pressure” are properly defined in the final bill.
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Specifying the training required for doctors and judges, in particular so that they can identify signs of coercion.
End of April
The committee stage for most private bills (PMBs) is normally a fairly perfunctory exercise, but this bill will take much more time and is expected to come back at the end of April. After the committee stage, a PMB usually returns to the Commons chamber for the report stage and third reading. It can only be considered on a sitting Friday – which only amounts to a fixed number of days per year – and the first seven of those Fridays are reserved for the accounts of new private members.
Under normal circumstances this can result in a PMB not having enough time to complete. Several high-profile MPs have asked the government to give the bill time to spare the government for a longer debate in the House of Commons. But so far the government has not indicated that it will do so.
After the third reading
The next phase
The bill would then go to the House of Lords – where a number of hurdles still need to be cleared, as well as possible amendments that would return to the House of Commons. The timetable for the bill is highly unpredictable in the Lords and there is no formal timeline for how long it would take for progress to be made.
After royal assent
The bill becomes law
Should the bill become law after all parliamentary stages have been completed, the bill gives the government two years to implement the legislation. That will likely require extensive public consultation and work within the NHS and legal system before the procedure can become available to patients.
In practice, this is likely to mean that it will be at least three years from the introduction of the bill before any form of assisted death becomes available.