UK MPs back assisted dying in historic vote

LONDON — MPs have voted by 330 to 275 in favor of a bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales for the first time.

MPs backed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, at second reading, meaning it will now continue through parliament for further scrutiny.

The decision followed a packed five-hour debate in the House of Commons, where MPs made their choice in a free vote, meaning they did not have to vote on party lines.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who refused to comment on his position in the build-up the vote, backed the change in the law, as did Chancellor Rachel Reeves and former Conservative PM Rishi Sunak.

Introducing the bill, Leadbeater urged her colleagues to reflect on “the heartbreaking reality and human suffering which far too many people are experiencing as a result of the status quo.”

She argued the legislation would give dying people choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives.

Danny Kruger, a Conservative MP and one of the most prominent critics of the bill, said MPs should not opt for “a vote for despair but the start of a proper debate about dying well in which we do better than a state suicide service.”

Start of a proper debate

At present, laws throughout the U.K. prevent people from receiving medical help to die.

Under the terms of Leadbeater’s plan, the right to die would apply to adults who have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure.

They must be expected to die within six months, according to two independent doctors, and have the request signed off by a High Court judge. 

The bill has been the focus of fierce and passionate disagreement at Westminster and throughout the country over the past six weeks, with Keir Starmer’s Cabinet split on the issue. 

Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood are among those who opposed the move, while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall supported the bill.

The bill is now due to pass to committee stage to be examined in detail. 

There is strong, bipartisan support for assisted dying for the terminally ill, according to polls carried out by YouGov.

A study by the same firm last week showed that 73 percent of Britons think assisted dying should be legal. However, 19 percent said that while they support assisted dying in principle, they oppose it in practice because they don’t believe adequate laws can be created to regulate it.

Reacting to the result, Leadbeater told the BBC she felt “overwhelmed” but added that the debate had shown parliament in its best light and the legislative process to follow would be “very thorough.”