DON'T RUN DOWN CLOCK ON 'SAFE' RIGHT TO DIE LAW

PEERS must pass assisted dying legislation through the Lords or risk causing "significant harm" to its reputation if time runs out, campaigners claim.

- BY HANNA GEISSLER Health Editor

Bill sponsor Lord Falconer will today ask the Lords to agree to provide further time for debates, including the House potentially starting earlier or sitting later.

A group of peers who oppose assisted dying have tabled most of more than 1,000 proposed changes to the landmark law.

But Sarah Wootton, the chief executive of campaigners Dignity in Dying, said terminally ill people were watching "as time is wasted that they do not have".

She warned: "Dying people don't have the luxury of time, yet a small but vocal minority of opponents in the House of Lords are attempting to run down the clock. We need proper progress toward a compassionate, safe assisted dying law.” Lord Falconer of Thoroton told the Daily Express: “The Lords need to fulfil their responsibilities to the bill in time for Parliament as a whole to come to a decision before the end of the session.

“Not to do so would risk damaging the reputation of the Lords and would let down all of those who are looking to Parliament to resolve this issue in a timely way.”

Another 10 days have been allocated this year to let peers consider all the proposed amendments.

However the bill will become law only if both the Commons and the Lords agree on its wording by the end of the parliamentary session, which is expected to happen in early May.

Lord Falconer said that the pioneering bill had already received “an unprecedented amount of scrutiny in both the House of Commons and the Lords”.

He added: “Under normal circumstances, the time allocated for debate in the Lords would be enough for peers to do their proper job of examining the bill and suggesting any amendments that may help improve it.