The passage of the Assisted Dying Bill will be delayed as the House of Lords set up a select committee to scrutinise how the legalisation will work in practice.
It means the committee stage - which is when a bill is examined in detail clause-by-clause by a group of MPs - can't proceed until the select committee reports its findings.
There's been significant pushback to the move, which was tabled by Baroness Berger and which Lord Falconer said was not "workable".
Since then, Lord Falcolner has reversed his position and conceded the committee stage will have to be delayed, which has led some to conclude that supporters of the bill do not have the numbers for the bill to pass in the second chamber.
The bill was debated by peers on at the Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday 19th September. If passed into law, it will allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to have an assisted death.
Analysis by Right To Life UK's Policy Team found that of the 155 peers who took a position on the Bill, 104 (67%) spoke in opposition and 51 (33%) spoke in favour, making those who oppose the bill double those who support it. Five Lords did not make their position known.
It's in marked contrast to the same passage stage in the House of Commons in June where 25 spoke in favour and 21 spoke in opposition.
Under UK law, the House of Lords can reject the Bill and stop it from becoming law.
Former Prime Minister and daughter of a church of England vicar, Baroness Teresa May, spoke out at the debate, saying the legislation was a "licence to kill" bill.
In addition, former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Baroness Foster, said:
“The two days of debate at Second Reading have shown just how strongly this Bill is opposed across the House. Peer after peer spoke about the dangers it poses and the harm it would inflict on the most vulnerable.”
Former Paralympian, Baroness Grey-Thompson, said:
“Across the two days of Second Reading, many more Peers have spoken against the Bill than in favour, with dozens voicing concerns about the risks it poses to the most disadvantaged in our communities and the lack of proper safeguards.
“This Bill is not a Government Bill and was not part of a manifesto promise, so the Lords is constitutionally entitled to reject this Bill.
“The message from the two days of Second Reading is unequivocal: we must protect the most disadvantaged in society.”
There has been significant opposition to the bill from Christian organisations.
During public conversation over the summer, 1,200 Christian leaders signed an open letter to MPs opposing the assisted dying bill.
Christian organisations such as the Evangelical Alliance, CARE and the Christian Medical Fellowship have all raised concerns that the bill undermines the value of life and lacks adequate safeguards.