The assisted dying bill begins the next parliamentary stage at the end of this month.
After a five hour debate in the House of Commons late last year, a total of 330 MPs voted in favour of moving the bill to the next stages of the legislative process.
A previous article , explored the bill, officially known as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in more detail.
Jennifer Robinson, solicitor in the private client team at Wake Smith Solicitors, explains what happens next.
Jennifer said: “Although the Bill won the majority vote in its second reading, this does not automatically make it law. There are several more stages that the Bill must pass and this will likely take some time.”
The Bill begins the next parliamentary stage at the end of January 2025. A committee of MPs were assigned to extensively scrutinise it line by line to discuss possible amendments in readiness for the next parliamentary vote in April 2025.
After the committee stage, the Bill will be put forward for a third reading and subsequent vote in the House of Commons.
Jennifer said: “At the second reading, concerns were raised over the wording in the Bill, even by MPs who voted in favour. Consequently, even though the Bill passed the second reading, unless changes are made to satisfy concerned MPs, there is no guarantee it will pass its third reading.
“If MPs vote in favour, the Bill would then proceed to the House of Lords. Several more hurdles may arise and the Bill may need further amendments, which would result in the Bill being sent back to the Commons and the aforementioned stage will need to be repeated. There is no formal timeline for how long a Bill can take to progress in the House of Lords.
“Once the Bill is approved in the Lords, it will then be subject to receiving royal assent. In practice, it is rare for the Crown to reject a Bill that has been approved by Parliament.
“The Government then has two years to implement the legislation and this will likely require extensive public consultation and work within the NHS, and the court system, before the procedure can become available to patients.
“In practice this is likely to mean it would be at least three years from the Bill being introduced to any kind of assisted dying becoming available.”
If successful, England and Wales will join a small number of countries worldwide to legalise assisted dying.
For professional advice about estate planning and Wills please contact Jennifer Robinson at Wake Smith Solicitors on 0114 224 2084 or email [email protected]
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