Campaigners gather to protest in support of assisted dying, in Parliament Square, central London, Friday Sept. 11, 2026. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) — U.K. lawmakers will vote again on Friday on whether to back legislation to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has returned to the House of Commons after running out of time when the last parliamentary session ended in the spring — that effort was effectively filibustered by unelected lawmakers in the House of Lords chamber.
Each five-year parliamentary term is subdivided into a number of sessions of the government’s calling, and bills can only become law if they are discussed and voted on within a single session by both houses of parliament.
The bill proposes allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. Because of the four-year implementation period, assisted dying wouldn’t be available across England and Wales until 2031 at the earliest.
