THE creation of a select committee to further scrutinise the assisted dying Bill has been described as a “big win” for its opponents. 

The Bill passed the second reading stage in the House of Lords on Friday, the furthest any such legislation has progressed through Parliament.

It proposes allowing terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, following approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, legal figure and psychiatrist. 

After a two-day debate spanning 12 hours, the Bill was nodded through the Lords, meaning no vote was taken.

But it now faces scrutiny by a select committee of peers before progressing any further, after peers agreed on an amendment by Baroness Luciana Berger.

Lady Berger said the Bill “falls short”, adding: “We cannot legislate for irreversible decisions on the basis of incomplete protections”.

Independent crossbencher Lord Curry said: “There’s absolutely no question that this Bill if passed will devalue the importance of human life and economics will become part of the decision-making process — the NHS will save money and families will protect their inheritance.”

But Lord Cashman, co-founder of LGBT charity Stonewall, said the Bill “does not impose choice, but allows it”.

“I watched as my late husband and partner of 31 years died knowing there was a better, more humane way.”

Jo Johnson, brother to former prime minister Boris Johnson, said: “People who suffer from an incurable condition should not be forced against their will to endure intolerable suffering.”

The select committee will begin on October 20 and hold six meetings over three weeks.

An analysis by Right to Life UK of speeches across both days of the debate suggested that 67 per cent of peers had spoken in opposition to the Bill. 

The group’s chief executive, Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, described the establishment of the select committee as a “big win.”

“Given that the House of Lords can reject the Bill, the Bill is increasingly looking like it is in jeopardy and will never become law.

“With Hospice UK warning that 40 per cent of hospices are planning to make cuts this year, the NHS described by our Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, as ‘broken’, and every year, 100,000 people still dying without the palliative care they need, this assisted suicide legislation is a disaster waiting to happen.”