An update on the prospect of assisted dying in England and Wales has been provided to Reading constituents after peers in the House of Lords stalled the Terminally Ill Adults Bill.
Assisted dying — where a terminally ill person with an incurable condition receives help to end their life — is already legal in countries such as Canada, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. The Bill was introduced to Parliament by Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley.
Pro-Life campaigners call the measure 'assisted suicide', and more than 1,000 doctors reportedly wrote to MPs urging them to vote against it.
Yuan Yang, the Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, updated constituents on the Bill's progress. Ms Yang notes the Bill had a first reading by Ms Leadbeater, and MPs were given an un-whipped vote for the second and third readings. She voted for it at second reading, but against it at third.
Matt Rodda (Labour, Reading Central) and Olivia Bailey (Labour, Reading West and Mid Berkshire) both voted against the Bill at the second and third readings.
Ms Yang explained her decision in full: "I voted for the Bill at Second Reading last November, because I support the principle that people who are terminally ill, with less than six months to live, should be allowed to choose an assisted death. However, at the third reading, I voted against the Bill.
"My main concerns around the Bill were linked to the lack of holistic assessment built into the consultation process, which was highlighted by the Royal Society of Psychiatrists.
"Secondly, I was concerned about the way in which the Bill might affect vulnerable groups who have already been let down by the healthcare system, and their perception of the NHS.
"This was a very difficult decision for me to make, and I have great respect for my colleagues, across all political parties, who came to different conclusions."
After Commons votes the Bill goes to the House of Lords, which can table amendments. Ms Yang warns: "More than 1,200 amendments have been tabled in the Lords, 700 of those by just eight peers.
"This means that it’s very unlikely that the Bill will be passed by the end of this ‘parliamentary session’, which is expected to finish in May.
"If it doesn’t pass by then, it won’t become law – the debate runs out of time."
Ms Yang also said the Bill is effectively "doomed" because Lords tend to debate each amendment in turn. MPs could theoretically use the Parliament Act 1911 to bypass the Lords if a bill is rejected by them twice in a row.
She added that while she backed the government’s abolition of hereditary peers, further reform of the Lords is needed. Her update was sent to constituents by email on Thursday 12 March and used with the consent of her team.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
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