Assisted dying bill returns to Commons via private member's bill

A Labour MP will use her private member's bill to return assisted dying legislation to the Commons. The measure would allow terminally ill adults over age 16 to end their life with approval from a panel of experts. The MP said the bill had been blocked by the House of Lords after passing the Commons.

She stated her decision was about democracy and that the legislation was prevented from passing only by a minority in the Lords who submitted more than 1,000 amendments.

Background on the legislation The bill originally passed the Commons last year but ran out of time in the Lords. The MP came second in a ballot of private members' bills, giving the measure a strong chance of advancing if MPs continue to support it.

The MP said supporters could use the Parliament Act to bypass the Lords if the bill is blocked a second time. She added that the bill should not be necessary to use the Parliament Act if peers complete their review in the normal way.

Reactions from supporters and opponents The chief executive of Dignity in Dying said the announcement would come as relief to terminally ill people and their families. The group noted that the MP had spoken to campaigners living with terminal illness.

A former health minister said the bill was divisive and flawed. The former minister stated the legislation would hand unchecked powers over life and death to future governments and was not a priority.