The UK's assisted suicide bill has failed and will not become law.As of Friday, with more than five months of debate in the House of Lords, the bill has run out of time to be considered.Reported by the BBC, hundreds of amendments had been made to the bill while being debated in the House, and after a period of prolonged debate, it became clear it would not pass.Since the bill was a private member's bill brought in by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, not a government bill, it will not be given priority for reintroduction and reconsideration.."When the bill went to the lords, I was always really clear that I welcomed the scrutiny, the refinement that the lords might want to make to the legislation— that is their job," Leadbeater told the BBC on Friday."But when the democratically elected chamber has voted for a piece of legislation — it isn't their job to table so many amendments, many of which were inappropriate and some were actually quite cruel."She continued to criticise the lords for not coming to the vote on the bill, claiming "that isn't what democracy looks like."Leadbeater said it's a "sad day," adding those affected may instead "take their own lives."."People taking their own lives in their final few months of life because they feel so desperate," Leadbeater stated."Our job is to protect everyone in British society — this bill does not do that," stated Baroness , Tanni Grey-Thompson, at the House of Lords.Another, Baroness Victoria Prentis, stated the UK government owes the dying "better than this bill.""We owe them the best deaths we can manage," Prentis stated.."Real efforts and enthusiasm should be put into palliative care and all facilities including temporary nursing when necessary to help people die at home surrounded by their families.""We need to really integrate physical and mental care and not just talk about it."Later, she stated that "crisp white sheets and some control over treatment deaths may become part of the normal system of palliative care — and not just reserved for people who engineer some form of assisted dying.""We owe the vulnerable legislative protection.".On Friday, the same day the UK's euthanasia bill failed to pass, a British woman, Wendy Duffy, had died after travelling to Switzerland to receive assisted suicide.“I can confirm that Wendy Duffy, at her own request, was assisted to die on April 24 and that the procedure was completed without incident and in full compliance with her wishes," stated Ruedi Habegger, the founder of Pegasos, an assisted-dying nonprofit organization, according to the New York Post. Duffy had decided to go through with the treatment because she had been heartbroken by her only son's death four years ago.“I can also confirm that neither we nor any of the professional staff assessing her mental capacity had any doubt as to her intention, understanding, and independence of both thought and action," claimed Habegger..Habegger calls Duffy's case, in terms of English law, a "sane suicide."Duffy had paid Pegasos $13,500 to end her own life in Switzerland.Duffy, a former care worker, stated earlier this week she believed suicide was the only way her "spirit can be free" from her grief of losing her son. She also revealed when she received euthanasia, she would wear her son's shirt, saying "it smells like him.".Duffy requested the song Die With a Smile be played as she passed away, and all her belonging she brought be donated.Duffy's son, Marcus, died at 23 years old after choking on a tomato stuck in his windpipe after he fell asleep eating a sandwich.Nine months after her son's death, Duffy tried killing herself by overdosing.As a consequence, she was put on a ventilator for two weeks.Although Duffy tried therapy and medication, she claimed nothing could help her and she "can't wait" to die..“It will be hard for everyone. But I want to die. I’ll have a smile on my face when I do, so please be happy for me," Duffy stated. "My life; my choice."Duffy claims she preferred a "neater" death at the Swiss clinic than having someone discover her."I could step off a motorway bridge or a tower block, but that would leave anyone finding me dealing with that for the rest of their lives."Duffy's sister-in-law, Paula, stated Duffy's 87-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, remains unaware of Duffy's death, reports the Mirror.
