Lords back bill to legalise assisted suicide

A private member's bill to legalise doctor assisted suicide in England and Wales was given an unopposed first reading in the House of Lords last week. The Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill replaces a bill introduced by the crossbench peer Joel Joffe that lapsed in April when parliament was dissolved for the general election and that would have legalised voluntary euthanasia as well as doctor assisted suicide. A select committee that took extensive evidence …