By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Published: 11:39 GMT, 7 January 2026 | Updated: 18:52 GMT, 7 January 2026

Peers will this week resume their battle over assisted dying laws as supporters of the legislation demand more time to force it through the House of Lords.

Lord Falconer, the ex-Labour minister and a key backer of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, will request 'further time' for debate in Parliament's upper chamber.

There have been more than 1,000 amendments tabled to the Bill in the Lords after it was passed by the House of Commons in June.

Peers who are opposed to assisted dying have been accused of time-wasting and obstructing the legislation as a means of sabotaging the Bill's progress.

The Bill will become law only if both the Commons and the Lords agree on the final drafting of the legislation.

Approval is needed before spring when the current session of Parliament ends, with supporters fearing the Bill could run out of time to be passed into law.

Peers are due to continue their committee stage debate of the Bill, which has been branded 'unsafe' by critics, on Friday.

On Thursday, a motion tabled by Lord Falconer will request extra time to ensure the legislation can get through the Lords and return to the Commons in good time.

Peers will this week resume their battle over assisted dying laws as supporters of the legislation demand more time to force it through the House of Lords.

Lord Falconer, the ex-Labour minister and a key backer of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, will request 'further time' for debate in Parliament's upper chamber.

This could mean sittings of the Lords starting earlier or finishing later. Friday debates on the Bill so far have generally begun after 10am and finished by around 3pm.

But the request for longer sittings will face opposition, with some holding concerns over potential breaches of the Equality Act regarding disabled and religious peers.

Tory peer Lord Shinkwin, who has brittle bone disease osteogenesis imperfecta, has expressed concern about longer sittings impacting his travel arrangements.

Others have set out their reservations over the potential impact on Jewish members wishing to observe the Sabbath and Muslims attending Friday prayers.

If passed, the Bill will allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.

After passing its initial stages in the Commons, the Bill has been slow to progress through the Lords as changes - such as potentially stronger assessments for young people seeking an assisted death and further safeguards to prevent so-called 'death tourism' - have been debated.