Image source, House of Commons

Labour MP Lauren Edwards, the bill's sponsor, begins by saying the bill will give terminally ill adults "choice, autonomy and dignity" at the end of their lives.

She says a small number of peers in the House of Lords, referring to it as "the other place", had "chosen" to prevent any votes on the bill taking place.

Edwards says this brought the conversations that she and other MPs had been having on the bill to "an abrupt halt", adding that consistent polling has shown strong public support for the bill.

The second reading debate for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is beginning in the House of Commons, ahead of MPs voting later today.

We will be bringing you updates here and you can watch live at the top of this page.

Labour MP Patrick Hurley says he will vote against the assisted dying bill today because "fundamentally, this bill is not safe".

He criticises Labour MP Lauren Edwards, who is sponsoring the bill, for bringing the legislation back in its original form without "improvements" made by peers in the House of Lords.

Hurley says it will have a "disproportionate impact on the vulnerable, the elderly, people who may be subject to coercion".

He adds: "I am aghast this is being brought back in its original form."

The legislation up for debate today is identical to the bill that made it through the House of Commons last year.

The bill allows terminally ill adults to end their life if they:

• Have the capacity to make a decision to end their own life
• Are aged 18 or over
• Are a resident in England or Wales and have been for at least 12 months and a registered patient with a medical practice in England or Wales
• Have a clear, settled and informed wish to end their own life, and have made the decision that they wish to end their own life voluntarily and has not been coerced or pressured by any other person into making it
• Make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die
• Satisfy two independent doctors that they are eligible - with at least seven days between each assessment

A doctor would prepare the substance being used to end the patient's life, but the person is required to take it themselves.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who brought the bill forward during the last parliamentary session, says MPs "have a duty to restart the process" after it stalled in the House of Lords.

There's "extremely strong" support in the Commons for this legislation, she tells BBC Breakfast, adding that the Lords "cannot block legislation" as unelected politicians.

She pushes back on claims that the bill is too weak, saying she spent "hours and hours" speaking with civil servants and government officials to produce a "workable, very safe piece of legislation".

"It is very solid, it is very sound - that doesn't mean we shouldn't enable the House of Lords to do their job. What we cannot have is an unelected chamber overriding the will of the elected chamber," she says.

Leadbeater adds that the "status quo for terminally ill people is not acceptable" and that the bill is "very strict in its criteria".

The fundamentals of the debate haven't changed - but bill unlikely to end in stasis this timepublished at 09:23 BST 11 September

09:23 BST 11 September

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

If MPs vote in favour of the assisted dying bill today it will have cleared a major hurdle.

It won’t be the end of the story. In the weeks and months to come, the bill will still have to pass all the rest of its stages in the House of Commons.

And crucially, if supporters want to stop the House of Lords from blocking it for a second time, the bill must complete its passage through the Commons without any changes.

The fundamentals of this debate have not changed. But what is different this time it is unlikely to end in stasis - as happened when the bill ran out of time in the House of Lords last time.

If opponents win today, the bill will fall.

There might well be future attempts to bring the issue back. But this attempt to change the law will be over.

If those in favour are successful in getting it through the Commons today - and in the months ahead unamended - then it will become law even if the House of Lords does not approve it.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour MP Lauren Edwards, who has brought forward an identical bill to the previous attempt, says she wants to ask the House of Lords to "finish the job".

The last effort to change the law ran out of time to clear all the necessary stages in Parliament.

Proposals tabled by Labour's Kim Leadbeater in 2024 to legalise assisted dying cleared the House of Commons on 20 June last year with a majority of 23.

But it did not clear all its stages in the Lords, with peers tabling more than 1,200 amendments.

Supporters of the bill accused some peers of using delaying tactics to block the proposals, while critics argued it did not have sufficient safeguards to protect vulnerable people.

From 09:30 BST, what is known as a second reading debate will take place - which gives MPs the opportunity to discuss the main principles of the bill.

The debate cannot run beyond 14:30 BST, and a vote is expected before that cut-off time. Both sides expect the result to be close. "It's on a knife edge," one of those closely involved told the BBC.

If the bill is backed by MPs on Friday then it will proceed to the next stage known as committee, which will see possible amendments debated by MPs.

Opponents believe support for the bill has weakened since MPs last considered it. But they are not confident they have the numbers to win the vote.

Supporters and those opposed believe the outcome will come down to who turns up on Friday, a day when many MPs are typically in their constituencies rather than in Westminster.

Joe Coughlan
Live reporter

Image source, EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Assisted dying in England and Wales could move a step closer to becoming legalised today as MPs gather to vote on a bill to introduce it.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow adults with fewer than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life, subject to certain safeguards such as approval being given by two doctors and an expert panel.

Labour MP Lauren Edwards, the bill's sponsor, has brought forward an identical bill to the previous attempt, which cleared the House of Commons in June last year but stalled in the House of Lords earlier this year after peers tabled more than 1,200 amendments.

Edwards says there is a "real human cost to the delay" in passing the legislation, while veteran broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen has called on MPs to support the bill, adding her own life with terminal cancer had become "unbearable".

Meanwhile, critics have said the bill includes too few measures to protect vulnerable people from being coerced into ending their lives, with Labour MP Ashley Dalton saying it "remains deeply flawed and unsafe".

Today's second reading debate will allow MPs to consider the main principles of the bill - must start voting before 14:30 BST.

We will be bringing you all the latest updates here and you can watch live when debating begins.