Hopes surge for assisted dying after supporters land top ballot spots | Politics | News
Campaigners make their voices heard outside Parliament (Image: Getty)
Hopes have risen that the Assisted Dying Bill will return to Parliament after three supporters were among the top five MPs in a key draw. The private member’s Bill vote, which saw balls drawn from the fishbowl to decide which MPs would have the opportunity to propose new legislation, took place at 9am on Thursday. The coveted top spot went to Tory Sir Desmond Swayne, ball number 499, a staunch competitor in the assisted death.
However, second, fourth and fifth places were occupied by Labour’s Lauren Edwards, Liberal Democrat Andrew George and Conservative Dr. Luke Evans took it; they all voted in favor of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill last year. In a statement released after the third reading vote last summer, Ms. Edwards called the bill “one of the most significant, compassionate and empowering changes to health care we have seen in a generation.”
Read more: Why MPs should ‘finish what they started’ and support assisted dying legislation
The Rochester and Strood MP added: “I want to be clear: this legislation is about choice. It is about giving people who face unimaginable pain and suffering at the end of their lives the right to legally decide how and when they die – on their own terms, surrounded by loved ones, with dignity, compassion and support.”
“This choice does not and will never replace hospice or palliative care.” Ms Edwards also praised the bill’s sponsor, Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, “for her strong leadership and commitment to this important issue”.
The legislation fell out in the previous session of Parliament after a small group of colleagues lied to shorten the deadline.
Ms Leadbeater and her team have offered to support any MP who chooses to take up the bill. If it is supported by the Commons at the second session, the Lords will not be able to block it again.
Mr George, MP for St Ives, slammed obstructionists in the House of Lords. He wrote on Facebook last month: “The House of Lords assisted in its own Death today.
“If a minority of unelected members can deliberately frustrate the will of the democratically elected assembly, they must all go. And the sooner the better.”
Supporters hope an MP will bring the bill back to the House of Commons (Image: Getty)
Dr. MP for Hinckley and Bosworth. Evans spoke in favor of the bill during the House of Commons debate, drawing on his own experiences in medicine.
In a speech in 2024, he noted the limitations of end-of-life care, talking about “cases that keep doctors and surgeons up at night.” Dr Evans gave the example of “an inoperable neck cancer eroding the carotid artery, literally creating a bloody time bomb that no one knows when it will explode”.
He listed his reasons for voting for the legislation last summer: “I made this decision because I do not believe the current status quo is right.
“I believe that terminally ill, sane, and near-end-of-life people should have the legal right to choose how and when they die, if they so choose.”
The vote determined a total of 20 MPs, but only those near the top are likely to devote enough time to the bill.
Talks have begun between supporters of assisted dying in parliament and those at the top of the lottery, who will face fierce lobbying on a range of other issues.
Successful MPs will formally introduce their bills to the House of Commons on Wednesday, June 17.
