Assisted dying is a step closer to becoming legal in England and Wales after the proposed legislation successfully cleared the House of Commons in a landmark vote.
A majority of MPs supported a bill allowing terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives.
Despite concerns from critics regarding the safety of a bill they claimed has been hurried, the proposed legislation advanced further in the parliamentary process.
MPs voted 314 to 291, with a majority of 23, to pass Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its third reading.
Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been approved at its third reading.
Both houses must agree on the final wording of the bill before it can be enacted into law.
Given the four-year implementation period, assisted dying may not be available until 2029, potentially coinciding with the conclusion of the current British government’s term.
Currently, encouraging or aiding suicide is illegal in England and Wales, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
Advocates for assisted dying argue that the existing law is inadequate, forcing desperate terminally ill individuals to seek options in secrecy or travel to Dignitas, a Swiss non-profit organization offering physician-assisted suicide, feeling alone and fearful of implicating their loved ones.
This was the first occasion the bill was debated and voted on in full since last year’s historic affirmative vote, where MPs supported the principle of assisted dying for England and Wales by a majority of 55 during the second reading.
Labour MP Ms. Leadbeater contends that her bill aims to “rectify the profound injustices of the current status quo and to provide a compassionate and safe option for terminally ill individuals who wish to make that choice.”
During an extended debate today, MPs from both sides shared personal anecdotes about loved ones who had passed away.
Conservative former minister James Cleverly, who led the opposition to the bill in the House of Commons, recounted a close friend who suffered “painfully” from cancer.
He stated he approaches this contentious issue “not from a place of faith nor from ignorance,” but from “concerns regarding the practicalities” of the bill.
MPs had a free vote on the legislation, allowing them to make decisions based on their conscience rather than party affiliations.
The proposed legislation would enable terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with less than six months to live, to request an assisted death, subject to approval from two doctors and a panel that includes a social worker, a senior legal figure, and a psychiatrist.
Public backing for a shift in the law remains substantial, as indicated by a YouGov poll released just before the vote.
The survey of 2,003 adults across Britain revealed that 73% supported the bill, while 75% believed assisted dying should be legal in principle.
