Cliff Notes
- MPs in England and Wales approved the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, legalising assisted dying for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live, by a majority of 23 votes.
- The legislation, proposed by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, will proceed to the House of Lords for further scrutiny, with implementation anticipated in 2029.
- Despite significant public support, critics argue the bill lacks robust safeguards, raising concerns about the potential for coercion and the relationship between doctors and patients.
MPs back legalising assisted dying in England and Wales after historic Commons vote | Politics News
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MPs have voted to approve a historic bill that would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was approved by 314 votes to 291 at its third reading in the House of Commons – a majority of 23.
Politics Live: MPs back legalising assisted dying in historic Commons vote
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the legislation, was seen crying in the chamber as it went through.
Campaign group Dignity in Dying hailed the result as “a landmark moment for choice, compassion and dignity at the end of life”.
“MPs have listened to dying people, to bereaved families and to the public, and have voted decisively for the reform that our country needs and deserves,” said Sarah Wootton, its chief executive.
“This vote will go down in history as the moment parliament finally caught up with the public”
The bill will now go to the House of Lords, where it will face further scrutiny before becoming law.
Due to the four-year implementation period, it could be 2029 – potentially coinciding with the end of this government’s parliament – before assisted dying is actually offered.
The bill would allow terminally ill adults 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.
MPs have deliberated the proposals for months, with a vote in November passing with a bigger majority of 55.
Since then it has undergone some significant changes, the most controversial being the replacement of a High Court Judge’s approval with the expert panel.
Ms Leadbeater has always insisted her legislation would have the most robust safeguards of any assisted dying laws in the world.
Opening the debate on Friday she said that opposing the bill “is not a neutral act. It is a vote for the status quo”.
She warned that if her plan was rejected, MPs would be asked to vote on it again in 10 years time and “that fills me with despair”.
The assisted dying debate was last heard in the Commons in 2015, when it was defeated by 330 votes to 118.
There have been calls for a change in the law for decades, with a campaign by Broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen giving the issue renewed attention in recent years.
Supporters have described the current law as not being fit for purpose, with desperate terminally ill people feeling the need to end their lives in secret or go abroad alone, for fear loved ones will be prosecuted for helping them.
Ahead of the vote, an hours-long emotionally charged debate heard stories from MPs about their friends and family’s experiences
Maureen Burke, the Labour MP for Glasgow North East, spoke about how her terminally ill brother David was in so much pain from advanced pancreatic cancer that one of the last things he told her was that “if there was a pill that he could take to end his life, he would very much like to take that”.
She said she was “doing right by her brother” in voting for it.
MPs were given a free vote, meaning they could vote with their conscience and not along party lines.
The division list shows Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer voted in favour of the bill, but Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch voted against.
Bill ‘poorly drafted’
Opponents of the bill have raised both practical and ethical concerns, including that people could be coerced into seeking an assisted death and the bill has been rushed through.
Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott said she was not opposed to the principle of assisted dying but called the legislation “poorly drafted”.
“This may be the most fateful bill that we discuss this parliament. It is literally a matter of life or death,” she said.
“The people talking about panels presumably have not had much to do with them. I would not put my life or anyone dear to me in the hands of a panel.”
Former foreign secretary James Clevery echoed those concerns, saying he is “struck by the number of professional bodies which are neutral on the topic of assisted dying in general, but all are opposed to the provisions of this bill”.
Recently The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Physicians have raised concerns about the bill, including that there is a shortage of staff to take part in assisted dying panels.
But public support for a change in the law remains high, according to a YouGov poll published on the eve of the vote.
The survey of 2,003 adults in Great Britain, suggested 73% of those asked last month were supportive of the bill, while the proportion of people who feel assisted dying should be legal in principle stood at 75%.