British legislators voted in favor of the bill for terminally ill patients.
The bill passed with 330 votes in favor and 275 against. Among other things, the bill provides that those adults who have been diagnosed with less than six months to live and whose brakes are intact, will have the right to end their lives with medical assistance.
A key condition will be the relevant opinion from two independent doctors and the consent of a High Court judge who will sign for the patient to be given the lethal dose of drugs.
It also provides that if someone pressures a person to request an assisted death, they risk a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
This is the second reading of the bill, and there are other stages it must pass before it becomes law.
Supporters and detractors
Its supporters, led by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, argue that the bill in question provides the most stringent safeguards in the world by ending the worst-case scenario for humans, that of horrible death.
Supporters of a vote against the bill, including Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, are concerned that some will feel pressured to be a “burden” on their family and society and seek euthanasia.
All MPs, even the ruling Labor party, will vote at will as no party discipline has been raised.
It is worth noting that even the British Prime Minister has not decided whether to vote for or against. “A lot will depend on the details” of the new law, Sir Keir Starmer said, adding that “we have to get the balance right. But I have always maintained that there should be appropriate guarantees”.
In 2015, a similar bill came to the British Parliament. Then he was voted against with 330 votes while only 118 MPs had voted for him, among them the current Prime Minister of the country who at that time was an ordinary Labor MP.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron has supported the bill.
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