Kim Leadbeater's Bill passed its next stage in the Commons (Image: Getty)
TABLE OF CONTENT What happens next? When will assisted dying be legal from?
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons today.
MPs voted 330 to 275, majority 55, to approve Kim Leadbeater’s Bill at second reading.
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Opposition and pro-change campaigners had gathered outside Parliament from early on Friday.
The four-and-a-half hour debate in the Commons heard arguments from MPs about a need to give choice to dying people.
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What happens next?
The bill to legalise assisted dying will now move to further debates and votes in the House of Commons and Lords in 2025.
Kim Leadbeater’s private members’ bill will now proceed to the Committee Stage - followed by the report stage and third reading in the Commons.
It will then move to the House of Lords where it will repeat this process.
But if the two Houses fail to agree on the wording of the bill, they send the bill back and forth - called ping pong - responding to each other's proposed changes.
When both chambers are in agreement, it can gain Royal Assent – approval from the King – and become law.
The Upper House is unlikely to bash down laws agreed by MPs in the Commons.
When will assisted dying be legal from?
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This means it could be between six months to one year before assisted dying becomes available in Britain.
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73 Comments
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82 Comments
Dame Esther Rantzen 'never thought she'd be here' as she makes devastating plea
40 Comments
'A quiet majority of disabled people support assisted dying. I'm one of them.'
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9 Comments
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5 Comments
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255 Comments
UK could face terror 'reckoning' amid Middle East war fears, MI6 chief warns
8 Comments
Outrage as Sadiq Khan warned people could ‘miss out on refunds' after huge cyber attack
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MPs listened to the public and ignored Wes Streeting's spurious warnings to make history
47 Comments
BBC TV licence to rise within months as Lisa Nandy announces 'funding certainty'
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16 Comments
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Read Dame Esther's final message to MPs before landmark assisted dying vote
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'I lead the Express assisted dying campaign and I'm convinced the law must change'
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'Here's why the UK won't end up like Canada when it comes to assisted dying'
15 Comments
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It has cross-party support and Government backing which significantly increases its chances of making it onto the statue books.
Ms Leadbeater has suggested an assisted dying service would not be up and running for around another two years from the point the law was passed, with “even more consultation to make sure we get it right” at that stage.
She believes “this Bill will receive more scrutiny and more discussion and more debate, probably, than any piece of legislation”.
Assisted Dying - The Law
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, assisting a suicide is a crime and those convicted could face up to 14 years in prison.
In England, euthanasia is illegal and considered manslaughter or murder, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The Suicide Act 1961 also makes it illegal to encourage or assist a suicide, a law which is also present in Wales.
In Scotland, helping a person to die could lead to prosecution for an offence such as culpable homicide.
And in Northern Ireland, assisting someone to take their own life or attempt to take their life is illegal and punishable by up to 14 years in prison.