UK lawmakers voted in favor of assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales on Friday, taking the emotional and controversial legislation to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny.
Campaign group Dignity in Dying hailed the result as “a historic step towards greater choice and protection for the dying”, but Christian Concern called it “Black Friday for this country’s vulnerable”.
MPs voted 330 to 275 in the first vote on the issue in the House of Commons for almost a decade.
The result followed an emotionally charged debate that lasted nearly five hours in a packed and hushed chamber, and rival protesters made their voices heard outside parliament.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill now moves to the next stage where lawmakers can propose amendments, a process likely to be marred.
The legislation will then face further votes in the upper house of the Commons and the House of Lords.
The process will likely take months, and if it is finally approved, the law change is expected to be years away.
The House of Commons last debated and defeated a euthanasia bill in 2015, but polls show public support for giving terminally ill people the choice to end their lives has shifted in favor. is
The law change would see Britain follow the example of many other countries in Europe and elsewhere that allow some form of assisted dying.
The first step
Labor MP Kim Leadbetter, who is behind the bill, told the debate that the law change would give terminally ill people “choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives”.
Advocates also say it would make some deaths less painful.
But other MPs expressed concern that people could feel forced to choose euthanasia, while some said they feared it would discriminate against people with disabilities.
Opponents also fear that the NHS is not ready for such a major change and that this could lead to a reduction in investment in palliative care.
Conservative MP Danny Kruger said “real dignity has to be looked after to the end”, urging colleagues to reject a “state suicide service”.
Outside, a large number of protesters gathered, holding signs that read: “Kill the bill, not the sick” and “Don’t care about the murder.”
At a nearby rally in favor of the legislation, people dressed in pink carried placards reading: “My life, my death, my choice”.
Ledbetter was embraced by a crowd of supporters after the vote.
“I know what it means to people. If we hadn’t achieved what we have achieved today, I would have let them down,” she said.
Broadcaster Esther Rentzen, who is terminally ill and is leading a campaign to change the law, said she was “absolutely excited”, even though it would be of no use.
She said she was “very impressed by the various doctors who took part, who gave painful but important explanations of people’s deaths, which could not be alleviated by even the best medical treatment”.
The Church of England’s lead bishop for healthcare Sarah Mullally, who opposed the move, said protecting the vulnerable “must be our priority now”.
“Today’s vote still leaves open the question of how this can be implemented in an overstretched and underfunded NHS, social care and legal system,” he added.
PM support
Assisted suicide currently carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, which has a separate legal system and has devolved powers to set its own health policy, it is not a specific criminal offence. But it can leave a person open to other charges, including murder.
Ledbetter’s bill would allow suicide in England and Wales for terminally ill adults who are less than six months old and are able to take a substance that would cause their own death.
Any patient’s dying wish must be signed by a judge and two doctors.
These measures are stricter than assisted dying laws in other European countries. A similar law change is being considered in Scotland.
Ledbetter’s initiative is a so-called private member’s bill and is not part of the government’s agenda.
Members of Parliament had a free vote, meaning the outcome was virtually impossible to predict.
Starmer voted in favour, as he did in 2015. Parliamentary figures show that his ministerial team was fairly evenly split for and against.