A proposed law to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales has run out of time to become law, almost 17 months after MPs first voted in favour of it.
The bill stalled in the House of Lords after the House of Commons supported allowing terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek medical help to end their life, subject to certain safeguards.
Supporters and opponents had accepted the bill would not complete all the required stages to become law in the current session of Parliament, with no further debate time allocated beyond Friday.
But there is a possibility another attempt is made to introduce the proposals in the next session of Parliament, which will begin on 13 May.
Several peers who support the bill have signed a letter to MPs saying the elected chamber should decide what happens next and they believe Parliament “must come to a decision on choice at the end of life as soon as possible”.
They accused opponents in the Lords of using “delaying tactics” but critics have argued the bill lacks safeguards and the debates in the upper chamber have “exposed further problems”.
Opponents have also written to MPs in which they accuse the backers of the bill of having “stonewalled or rejected nearly every attempt to amend or improve” it.
More than 1,200 amendments were tabled in the Lords, which is believed to be a record high for a bill introduced by a backbencher.
