After the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)—or, more simply, assisted suicide—bill was backed by MPs in its second reading last week, the draft legislation must now pass through a number of stages before it can become law. And some campaigners remain hopeful that it can be stopped altogether.
To many observers, the bill diminishes the value of human life, while representing a retreat from conservative norms.
First, the bill must undergo scrutiny by a committee of MPs. This will likely feature Kim Leadbeater—who introduced the legislation after being “encouraged” to do so by Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer—and some figures put forward by herself, as well as a government minister and opponents of the bill. The group is supposed to scrutinise each line in the draft and to suggest amendments.
Once it has done this, the bill will return to the House of Commons—Parliament’s lower chamber—where further amendments can be made ahead of a final (third reading) vote by MPs.
This is where some campaigners believe the law can be shot down. Journalist Dan Hitchens notes, for example, that just 28 MPs need to switch sides to defeat the bill, which passed by a majority of 55 last Friday. Analysis suggests 36 MPs could do so if further safeguards are not added to the legislation as it stands.
Some who previously backed legalisation are particularly concerned about the bill allowing doctors to raise assisted suicide as an option without the patient having asked for it first.
“Plus,” Hitchens added, there were 18 MPs who didn’t vote at all on Friday, meaning it is “all to play for.”
Encouraged by this message, Christian Concern’s chief executive Andrea Williams stressed that the campaign group “will not rest until this is defeated.”
Of course, it is also possible that some who voted “no” are satisfied with the coming amendments and switch sides themselves when the bill comes back to the Commons in April “at the earliest.”
If MPs do back it again, the bill will move to the House of Lords, Parliament’s unelected upper chamber, which is likely to allow it to move forward for Royal Assent. After this step, the bill would have become law. And by then, tragically, attempts to extend the scope of the legislation will be well underway.
Then, the mostly—though not universally—well-intentioned law would undoubtedly be the cause of vulnerable people being coerced into ending their lives prematurely.
