As assisted dying backed by MPs, what happens next?
The proposed law to make assisted dying legal in England and Wales has cleared its first hurdle. Here's what happens next.
Watch: MPs vote in favour of assisted dying bill
Assisted dying could be legalised in England and Wales after proposed legislation cleared its first hurdle in parliament.
After a four-and-a-half hour debate over Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday - the first time assisted dying has been discussed in the Commons since 2015 - a majority of MPs backed it at a vote.
Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.
Leadbeater has said the current law is not fit for purpose. Her proposals would allow terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge.
Have your say in our poll below and leave your comment about the assisted dying debate here, which we may feature in our live coverage here today.
What happened on Friday?
MPs voted 330 to 275, majority 55, to approve the bill at second reading.
There were at-times emotional scenes in the Commons as politicians on both sides of the debate made impassioned arguments for and against what has been described a “major social reform”.
Leadbeater insisted her bill has strict safeguards against coercion and said a new law would give society “a much better approach towards end of life”.
But Conservative Danny Kruger, lead MP for opponents of the bill, said he believed parliament can do “better” for terminally ill people than a “state suicide service”.
What happens next?
Friday's Commons debate and vote marked the second reading of the bill.
This was the second of 11 parliamentary stages the proposed legislation must navigate to gain royal assent and become law.
The next step is committee stage, where MPs can table amendments. Leadbeater told Sky News the committee will convene in the new year and be made up of MPs "with a variety of different views".
She added: "If there are things that need to change, we can do that collaboratively and collegiately across the House."
The bill will then face further scrutiny and votes in both the Commons and House of Lords.
Leadbeater estimated it could be six months before the bill can become law "and then there's the implementation after that. Obviously there's a lot to think about, we need to get it right, but I will work hard to make sure we do get this right."
What we know about the bill
Under the proposals, there are several requirements for someone to be deemed eligible for assisted dying.
The person must be an adult – aged 18 or older – and be resident in England and Wales and registered with a GP for at least 12 months.
They must have the mental capacity to make a choice about the end of their life and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish to end their life, free from coercion or pressure.
They must be terminally ill and be expected to die within six months.
They must make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die.
Two independent doctors must be satisfied the person is eligible, and they can consult a specialist in the person's condition. There must be at least seven days between the two doctors making their assessments.
A High Court judge must hear from at least one of the doctors regarding the application and can question the dying person as well as anyone else they consider appropriate.
The dying person must take the prescribed medication to end their life themselves, as no doctor or anyone else is allowed to administer it.
It would be illegal for someone to pressure, coerce or use dishonesty to get someone to make a declaration that they wish to end their life or to induce someone to self-administer an approved substance. Anyone found guilty of such actions could face a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
It is thought the shortest timeframe for the process – from first making a declaration to ending a life – would be about a month.
Leadbeater said a new law may not come into effect for another two to three years.
What does the public think?
Almost two-thirds of people in England and Wales want assisted dying to be legalised for terminally ill adults, polling has suggested.
One study, by the Policy Institute and the Complex Life and Death Decisions group at King’s College London, found that 63% of 2,063 adults polled want assisted dying to be legalised in the next five years. A fifth (20%) were against it, while 17% did not take a side on the issue.
The majority (85%) of those who support a law change said people having a less painful or distressing death is a very important reason for their view, while a similar proportion (83%) said giving people more dignity at the end of their life is very important.
But researchers said the polling showed the “moral complexities” people feel when it comes to this controversial issue, with concerns around risks among those who are broadly supportive of legalisation.
Of all respondents, 61% said they would be concerned about some people being pressured to have an assisted death if the law was changed.
The below graphic also shows YouGov polling on the issue over recent years.
Where is assisted dying legal?
Dignity in Dying, which is in favour of assisted dying, says 400 million people around the world have legal access to it in some form. It defines assisted dying as "allowing a dying person the choice to control their death if they decide their suffering is unbearable".
Countries where it is legal include Switzerland, 11 states in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier this year, Tracy Hickman, a British woman with terminal cancer who lived in New Zealand and later had an assisted death, told UK politicians: “Look at what New Zealand has done, and do it even better. There is a lot of focus on the right to life, but people should have the right to a peaceful, gentle death.”
