Assisted dying Bill to be introduced in the House of Commons this year

Labour MP Rob Marris has announced he will bring forward a bill based on Lord Falconer’s legislation last year which would allow terminally-ill individuals with six months or less to live to request assistance to end their own lives, subject to safeguards.

Mr Marris was drawn first in last week’s Private Member’s Bill ballot, meaning he gets priority on Commons time for a piece of legislation of his choosing.

Lord Falconer’s bill ran out of parliamentary time in the last session but Dignity in Dying, which campaigns for terminally-ill people to be offered the option of assisted dying, said it was “vital that Parliament no longer turns a blind eye”.

“It is great news that the House of Commons will now begin a debate on assisted dying which the public demand but have been denied because of parliamentary procedure,” said Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying.

“I welcome Rob Marris’s commitment to show compassion to dying people and give choice at the end of life. As the first Commons private member’s bill introduced on the issue it is a signal to the new Parliament that assisted dying is the pressing social issue of our time.”

Ms Wootton cited figures showing that dozens of Britons per year travelled to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland to end their lives, and a further 300 terminally-ill people per year took their lives in the UK.  

“The Lords demonstrated it is now a  question of how, not if, we change the law and I look forward to members of parliament discussing the best law to protect vulnerable people but crucially give dying people choice,” she added.