There is a real prospect that assisted dying (or to be somewhat more transparent, assisted suicide) will become law in the United Kingdom in 2025.
In October 2024, Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Kim Leadbeater introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Individual MPs partake in a ballot each year for the privilege of introducing a bill; Leadbeater won. The bill passed the House of Commons on November 29, 2024, with a final vote tally of 330–275 . This “free vote,” that is, free from party whipping, saw an unexpectedly large number of government backbench MPs, 147, vote against the bill, representing just under 40% of Labour MPs. On the Conservative side, 80% of those voting were opposed.
The parliamentary procedure now underway involves a committee considering the details of the bill and possible amendments before it returns for a final vote in the House of Commons, most likely in May or June. Although there is also a legislative procedure to follow in the second chamber, the House of Lords, the vote in the Commons on “Third Reading” is, most likely, the determinative one.
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