Summary

  • MPs will shortly debate again proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales - watch live from 09:30 BST

  • It's the second attempt to change the law - last year an identical bill was supported by MPs in the Commons, but stalled and ran out of time in the House of Lords

  • The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow adults with less than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life, subject to safeguards

  • Labour MP Lauren Edwards, the bill's sponsor, says delays in passing the legislation have a "real human cost" - those who oppose say there aren't sufficient safeguards, particularly for those who are vulnerable

  • If the bill passes the Commons today - and again in the next parliamentary session - the Lords cannot halt its progress a second time, under the terms of the Parliament Acts

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Live Reporting

Edited by Imogen James

  1. What's happening today?

    From 09:30 BST, what is known as a second reading debate will take place - which gives MPs the opportunity to discuss the main principles of the bill.

    The debate cannot run beyond 14:30 BST, and a vote is expected before that cut-off time. Both sides expect the result to be close. "It's on a knife edge," one of those closely involved told the BBC.

    If the bill is backed by MPs on Friday then it will proceed to the next stage known as committee, which will see possible amendments debated by MPs.

    Opponents believe support for the bill has weakened since MPs last considered it. But they are not confident they have the numbers to win the vote.

    Supporters and those opposed believe the outcome will come down to who turns up on Friday, a day when many MPs are typically in their constituencies rather than in Westminster.

  2. Legalised dying bill for England and Wales faces vote in Commons

    Joe Coughlan
    Live reporter

    Numerous campaigners dressed in pink hold signs in support of assisted dying being legalised. The Elizabeth Tower is visible in the backgroundEPA-EFE/Shutterstock

    Assisted dying in England and Wales could move a step closer to becoming legalised today as MPs gather to vote on a bill to introduce it.

    The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow adults with fewer than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life, subject to certain safeguards such as approval being given by two doctors and an expert panel.

    Labour MP Lauren Edwards, the bill's sponsor, has brought forward an identical bill to the previous attempt, which cleared the House of Commons in June last year but stalled in the House of Lords earlier this year after peers tabled more than 1,200 amendments.

    Edwards says there is a "real human cost to the delay" in passing the legislation, while veteran broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen has called on MPs to support the bill, adding her own life with terminal cancer had become "unbearable".

    Meanwhile, critics have said the bill includes too few measures to protect vulnerable people from being coerced into ending their lives, with Labour MP Ashley Dalton saying it "remains deeply flawed and unsafe".

    Today's second reading debate will allow MPs to consider the main principles of the bill - must start voting before 14:30 BST.

    We will be bringing you all the latest updates here and you can watch live when debating begins.