Assisted dying takes steps in England, but nothing certain in Wales

Local TV

A bill has passed in Westminster that could make assisted dying a reality in England, but the Senedd have the right to not offer it in Wales. It is set to become the law across England and Wales, but despite being legal, could not be offered in Wales, depending on a Senedd vote later this year.

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00:00Assisted Dying is of course an extremely sensitive topic, it's controversial, and while many

00:08will say it's something we've been needing for decades, others will point the obvious

00:12moral issues and problems that can arise from deciding when you die.

00:17The bill passed in Westminster, which essentially means assisted dying is now legal across England

00:21and Wales, and while the Senate was not granted a veto on the legality in the country, they

00:25are entitled to decide to not offer the service on this side of offers dyke.

00:32It stems from the complicated minefield of devolution, similarly to when the pandemic came about, and

00:37the Senate had unprecedented powers given the fact that the pandemic fell under the umbrella

00:42of health, the same is the case with assisted dying.

00:47That now means, despite its legality, there is every chance it is not going to be a reality

00:51in Wales, because just last year, in what was thought to be a symbolic vote in the Senate,

00:56could now have massive consequences as assisted dying was voted against in Cardiff Bay.

01:02The BBC reports that there is an expectation that there will be a further vote in the Senate,

01:05possibly in the autumn, which will then decide if assisted dying will be offered on the NHS,

01:10but before that, it won't be possible in Wales.

01:15The bill in Westminster was already a complicated moral dilemma for MPs, which was personal for

01:19many, but now on top of those ethical questions, politics once again shines through and could

01:24cause complications moving forward.

01:29Given the previous vote, which had a number of abstentions, you could argue that it would

01:32be voted against again, but with a much more consequential outcome, assisted dying could

01:37become a reality in Wales in the near future.

01:40I'm Pete Watkins, reporting for Local TV.

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