Overview

• The House of Commons approved the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on June 20 by 314 votes to 291, granting eligible adults with under six months to live the option of assisted dying.
• The legislation now advances to the House of Lords, where peers can propose amendments and use extended debate time to refine or delay its passage.
• A division among senior ministers, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s opposition, casts uncertainty on how much government time will be allocated for the upper-chamber review.
• The British Medical Association has urged that patients seeking assisted dying meet face-to-face with independent palliative care specialists early in the process to detect any coercion.
• MPs backed a requirement for ministers to assess palliative care quality and distribution within a year of the law coming into effect to monitor its impact on end-of-life services.