The UK House of Commons has voted in favor of a historic bill to legalize assisted dying, potentially putting England and Wales on the path to fundamental social reform that is widely supported by the British public.
Members of Parliament voted 330 to 275 in favor of changing the law that would allow terminally ill people with less than six months to live to choose to end their own lives. Two doctors and a high court judge would be needed to approve the decision. The legislation will now proceed to the next parliamentary stage, with the bill subject to further debate, amendments and votes before becoming law.
The vote was preceded by more than four hours of debate on a highly emotional issue that divided lawmakers in both main parties and which drew supporters from both sides to demonstrate outside Parliament.
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The so-called private member’s bill — which is not government legislation — was introduced to the House of Commons by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, who told the chamber on Friday (29) that it would give terminals “choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives”, subject to “very strict” criteria.
“We’re not talking about a life or death choice,” she said. “We’re talking about giving terminally ill people the choice of how they die.”
It is the first time in nine years that the issue has reached the Chamber, and deputies have been given freedom to vote on the matter, meaning they did not have to follow party guidelines. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had previously refused to say how he would vote because he did not want to exert influence on others, supported the legislation.
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The opposition, including Labour’s Diane Abbott, the longest-serving MP, cited the risks of people being coerced into ending their lives, as well as concerns about people with disabilities. “I don’t believe the safeguards are enough,” Abbott said.
Conservative lawmaker Danny Kruger said changing the law would “change life and death for everyone.”
“The project will not only create a new option for some, but it will impose on every person at the end of their life, on everyone who may be considered close to death and their families, this new reality: the option of assisted suicide, the obligation to have a conversation,” he said.
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But Leadbeater said the legislation would not apply to the elderly, people with disabilities, people with mental health conditions and those with chronic health conditions — unless they are also terminally ill. She emphasized that there would be checks and balances at every step of the process, requiring that people who choose to die have “mental capacity and a firm will” and that they “repeatedly demonstrate” that they understand the implications of their decisions.
“No other jurisdiction in the world has these layers of protection,” she said.
Additionally, she said the bill would protect terminally ill loved ones from the type of prosecution they could face under current laws that prohibit people from helping someone end their life.
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Marie Tidball, a disabled Labor MP, said she did not expect to vote in favor of the bill but would do so at this stage because she would like to “live my death as I have lived my life, empowered by the choices available to me.” She added that she would like to see stronger safeguards being introduced as the bill progresses through Parliament.
Although assisted dying has substantial public support, with polls consistently showing support for a legal change that would give Britons an alternative to traveling abroad to clinics like Dignitas in Switzerland, divisions within the House were also reflected on the streets next door. outside, where supporters from both sides gathered on opposite sides of Parliament Square.
Some held religious signs, with biblical references stating “Thou shalt not kill.” Others were adorned in the brightly pink products of the Dignity in Death campaign.
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Akua Rugg, a 78-year-old Londoner, said she became interested in the campaign after caring for her mother, who died aged 101, and saw the final years of her life like a prison sentence as her health declined.
“She had to be lifted in and out of bed, and it terrified her,” Rugg said of her mother. “I couldn’t control how I came into this world, but I would like to control how I leave it.”
Aaron, a 42-year-old activist from London aligned with Secular Pro-Life, a US organization, said he thought the bill would be a slippery slope to eventually allowing people with mental illness or disabilities to be legally killed. He didn’t want to reveal his last name because he didn’t want his co-workers to know his opinions on the matter.
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The legislation and any proposed amendments will now be scrutinized line by line by a specially formed committee, before returning to the House of Commons, where further amendments — and then the entire bill — can be proposed and voted on. It then goes to the upper house, the House of Lords, for further scrutiny.
Leadbeater said she is inclined to move a motion to give the House bill committee the power to hear oral and written evidence about assisted dying and its implications — not normal procedure for a private members’ bill. This would allow for a more rigorous examination of the issue. She also promised that committee members would come from different parties and represent a variety of views. “It’s not going to happen overnight,” she said.
If the legislation becomes law, it would bring England and Wales into line with about a dozen countries that allow assisted dying, such as Canada and Switzerland, as well as 11 U.S. states.
© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.
