Lord Falconer has stated that most of the peers in the House of Lords are in favour of changing the law in order to allow doctors to aid terminally ill individuals in ending their lives, prior to the bills second reading on 18 July 2014.
Regarding the bill, Falconer stated “Since it last came to the Lords there have been in excess of 200 new appointments … My own feeling, judging the mood of the Lords, is that there is a majority in favour of a change in the law.”
Falconer’s Bill has received a mixed response from the public. Writing for the Times, Melanie Phillips stated that “assisted dying transforms doctors into killers.” Alternatively, campaign-group Dignity In Dying support the bill, stating that “a change in the law…would lead to less suffering for those dying people who want the choice to control how and when they die.”
Lord Falconer’s assisted dying bill follows the Supreme Court’s decision to pass on the case to Parliament.