BBC News reports today: Opening the debate in a full house , Lord Falconer told peers that the current legal situation permitted the wealthy to travel abroad to take their own life while others were left “in despair” to suffer a “lonely, cruel death”. About 130 peers have requested to speak in a debate on the subject, which started shortly after 10:00 BST. Lord Falconer said a “limited” change was needed to the law to give the terminally ill choice on their deaths: Legalising assisting dying would mean “less suffering not more deaths”.
Analysis by BBC parliamentary correspondent Sean Curran: It looks as though a record number of peers will take part in the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill. More than 130 members of the Lords have indicated they want to speak about the proposals.Peers have already been warned that they’ll probably get only four minutes each to make their case. At this stage peers will have a general discussion about the bill. If their Lordships stick to the time limit the debate should end at about 20:00 BST. There won’t be a vote at the end of this debate but that doesn’t mean the measure is guaranteed to become law. The arguments about the details, and the chances to amend the legislation, will come later – after the summer break.