The landmark legislation seeking to legalise assisted suicide in England and Wales is in serious danger of being derailed in the House of Lords, its leading architect has conceded. Labour peer Lord Falconer has accused a minority of peers of attempting to filibuster the bill, risking its passage before Parliament dissolves for the election.
Fears of a Parliamentary 'Talk-Out'
Lord Falconer, a former Lord Chancellor under Tony Blair, issued a stark warning that the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill could 'run out of time' due to excessively long debates. He revealed that more than 1,000 amendments have been tabled, a tactic he interprets as an effort to obstruct the bill's progress within its allotted parliamentary schedule.
'I worry that there are a small number of people in the Lords who are trying to talk it out,' Lord Falconer stated during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He emphasised that the core function of the unelected chamber is to scrutinise, not to block, legislation that has already passed the Commons with a clear majority and enjoys consistent public support in polls.
Clash with Clergy and Defenders of Scrutiny
The peer also entered a war of words with religious leaders, specifically targeting the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally. She had cautioned that the proposed law might pressure cancer patients into choosing death. Lord Falconer retorted that the Anglican clergy appear 'out of tune with their congregations' on this issue.
His comments drew immediate fire from other quarters of the Lords. Labour's Baroness Berger hit back, stating: 'Scrutiny should never be conflated with obstruction. Our duty in the Lords is to scrutinise and interrogate legislation. This role is even more important when considering issues of life and death.'
Dr Gordon Macdonald of the campaign group Care Not Killing highlighted that as a Private Member's Bill, it is not part of the government's agenda, reinforcing the Lords' right to reject it. He also defended the Archbishop's stance, stating it is wrong 'to kill people or assist them to commit suicide.'
A Race Against the Parliamentary Clock
In a bid to salvage the bill, Lord Falconer will table a motion on Thursday urging that further time be provided for its consideration to complete its passage before the end of the current parliamentary session in May. The bill, which would allow terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to seek assistance to die, has already been granted 10 extra days of scrutiny.
However, even if his motion passes, it would not be binding on the government. Allocating more time to this bill would mean sacrificing days dedicated to debating the government's own key legislation, presenting a significant political hurdle. With the clock ticking down to May, the future of this deeply divisive and historic bill hangs in the balance.
