New Delhi, April 26 -- A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives failed Friday as parliamentary time ran out following an effective filibuster by unelected lawmakers in the revising chamber that blocked the will of elected members.

Though the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House of Commons last June, the House of Lords talked it out since then, stoking widespread criticism that it had overstepped the mark.

Proponents of what has been termed " assisted dying " - sometimes referred to as "assisted suicide" - hoped it would mark the biggest change to social policy in the U.K. since abortion was partially legalized in 1967. The intention was to put an end to ...