Overview
- The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which passed the Commons, fell on Friday after the House of Lords ran out of allocated time at committee stage.
- Peers tabled more than 1,200 amendments, about 800 from seven members, which left only seven of 59 clauses examined across 14 Friday sittings.
- Supporters accused a small group of peers of filibustering to block a vote, a charge the peers rejected as they argued the bill lacked clear protections for vulnerable people.
- The bill would have allowed a mentally competent adult with less than six months to live to seek an assisted death with approval from two independent doctors and oversight by an expert panel.
- MPs from both sides said they will try to reintroduce the same text through the next private members’ ballot, with some campaigners urging use of the rarely invoked Parliament Acts to overcome further delay, while opponents pushed for stronger palliative care instead.