Good afternoon,
We have arrived at a historic week, with both Westminster and Holyrood debating assisted dying reform, in no small part thanks to you, and I wanted to remind you of the key dates and times for debates and votes this week.
The Assisted Dying for Terminally ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, proposed by Liam McArthur MSP, will have its Stage 1 vote tomorrow, Tuesday 13 May; the first time MSPs will vote on this Bill and the first vote on any Assisted Dying Bill in Scotland since 2015. The debate is set to begin at 14.30, and we expect the vote will take place around 19.00. This is the equivalent of Second Reading in the House of Commons, where MSPs will vote on the principle of assisted dying. We are, again, cautiously optimistic that we have the numbers to win. If so, the Bill will progress to Stage 2, likely to continue into the autumn, when the Health Committee of MSPs that has already scrutinised the Bill would then consider amendments to strengthen its safeguards and resolve any concerns. There would be a final vote at Stage 3, likely to be the end of this year or the beginning of next, when MSPs can vote for or against Scottish law reform.
In Westminster, this Friday, 16th May, will be the first opportunity for the whole House to debate Kim Leadbeater’s Bill since its momentous Second Reading debate in November last year, when a clear majority of MPs voted to progress it. Report Stage enables the whole House of Commons to propose, debate and vote on amendments to the Bill, following the work of the cross-party Committee of MPs who scrutinised and amended the Bill for almost 90 hours over seven weeks earlier this year. Report is followed by Third Reading, which will determine whether the Bill can progress to the House of Lords.
Third Reading can take place on the same day as Report, but we strongly suspect that Report Stage will roll over to the next sitting Friday, 13th June, and Third Reading will either follow on that same day, or even the following week, Friday 20th June. Timings will be determined by the Speaker’s grouping of amendments selected to be debated, and the deadline for that is on Thursday, so we should have a sense of the likely chronology then.
For too long dying Britons have not been at the centre of choices about how they die. Alongside the public who overwhelmingly support choice, dying people who don’t want to suffer unbearably and against their wishes, and bereaved families whose tireless advocacy has powered Dignity in Dying’s campaign, we have been making the case for law reform. I hope that these key debates and votes this week build momentum and take us one step closer to compassionate choice at the end of life throughout the British Isles.
I will keep you updated as we move through this momentous week.
Thanks as ever for your support.
Sarah
Sarah Wootton
Chief Executive
Dignity in Dying and Compassion in Dying
@sarah_wootton
@sarahwootton.bsky.social
07772 660 514
