Almost six months after MPs backed the principle of assisted dying, the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill – sponsored by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater – is set to return to the House of Commons chamber on May 16 to undergo further debate.
This is the report stage of the bill’s passage, during which MPs will consider whether to make further amendments to the bill, followed by a third reading, when MPs vote on the bill in its final form. After this, the bill would then need to complete a similar process in the House of Lords.
There had been fears that because this is a backbench private member’s bill, the assisted dying bill would not be subjected to meaningful scrutiny. But these fears have not been borne out in practice.
