New assisted dying Bill officially introduced to Parliament

Terminally ill adults in England and Wales could be helped to end their lives “subject to safeguards and protections” as a new Bill was formally introduced in the House of Commons for the first time in almost a decade. Campaigners on both sides of the controversial assisted dying debate gathered outside Parliament on Wednesday ahead of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill being brought before MPs by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater. If the Bill clears its first hurdle at the end of November, it will face line-by-line examination in committee and further Commons votes before being sent to the Lords where the process begins again, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest. It is possible that MPs could vote against it on 29 November, as they did last time changes to the law were considered in 2015, preventing it going any further. Watch more on Independent TV: The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking