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Order! Order.

Hello, I'm Alicia McCarthy, and this is today in Parliament for BBC Radio 4 for Friday

the 19th of September, where the bill to introduce assisted dying is given initial approval

in the Lords.

The question is that this bill be now read a second time.

As many as if that opinion would say content, the country not content, I think the contents have it.

But there are deep divides on the legislation.

One peer says hundreds of people currently end their own lives every year.

People who are taking drastic and often violent steps to control an inevitable and imminent death.

But others fear the unintended consequences of any change.

Unlike other legislation, there is no redress, certainly not from the graveyard.

So a bill to allow assisted dying in England and Wales has cleared its first hurdle in the House of Lords.

The terminally ill adults' end-of-life bill would enable people with less than six months to live to apply for an assisted death,

subject to approval by two doctors and a panel

made up of a senior legal figure, a social worker and a psychiatrist.

More than 160 peers wanted to speak at this stage of the legislation, so the session

had been split over two days, with the first 90 or so speaking last week.

Reopening the debate today, a Labour peer, Lady Thornton, took, with the first 90 or so speaking last week. Reopening the debate today, a Labour peer Lady Thornton took issue with the speech made by the Conservative former Prime Minister, Theresa May.

I was saddened last week by the noble Lady Baroness May speaking about this being a suicide

bill. People have written to me in the last week, very distressed,

and they say things like, we are not suicidal, we want to live, but we are dying, and we do not

...