by Caroline Ansell, CARE
| The Westminster assisted suicide Bill has passed at Second Reading without a formal vote. This was expected, as by convention, the House of Lords does not always vote at this stage. Across the two days of debate at Second Reading, numerous speeches were given raising concerns around the Bill. You can find our write-up of the debate below. |
| Read about the debate |
| In total, 161 Peers spoke in the debate: 96 of these spoke against the Bill, and just 53 were in favour. A further 12 were undecided. Thank you to everyone who has contacted Peers in recent weeks: several made reference to letters and emails they had received in their speeches. Although the Bill has passed to the next stage in the process, in a highly unusual move, the Bill will be subject to an additional Select Committee before proceeding to Committee Stage, after an amendment from Baroness Berger was passed. This gives Peers the opportunity to collect oral evidence about the impact of the Bill, before scrutinising the Bill line-by-line. We believe that the more scrutiny this dangerous Bill is put under, the more Peers – and the Public – will be exposed to the dangers of the Bill, around coercion, around the impact on vulnerable people, and around the lack of high-quality palliative care. The Select Committee will report back by 7 November, at which point, Committee Stage will begin. There will be four days of Committee Stage before Christmas, when Peers will debate possible amendments to the Bill. Please continue to pray that over the upcoming months, light will be shone on the dangers of this damaging legislation, and that those who are vulnerable will be protected. |