MPs today voted for the Assisted Dying Bill amid tense scenes in the House of Commons by a margin of 55 votes.
During the nearly five-hour debate, parliamentarians discussed the controversial measure which, according to opinion polls, has a majority of the public’s support.
The government has committed to making Labour MP Kim Leadbeater‘s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ‘operable’ in the event that MPs supported the proposal, which they did this afternoon by 330 votes to 275.
The bill would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge.
In her impassioned speech in the Commons today, Ms Leadbeater said that the debate on the issue is ‘long overdue’ and, while not an easy subject, it is the job of parliamentarians to ‘address the issues that matter to people’.
She told MPs a more holistic view to care for dying people must be taken, saying: ‘This Bill will give society a much better approach towards end of life.
‘We’re already seeing conversations about dying and death in a way that we haven’t seen, I don’t think, enough in this country.’
But opponents of the Bill warned of the risks of providing a ‘suicide service’, and raised concerns around coercion and who might be caught up within the eligibility criteria.
Conservative MP Danny Kruger, lead MP for opponents of the Bill, said he believed Parliament can do ‘better’ for terminally ill people than a ‘state suicide service’.
He told the Commons: ‘We are the safeguard, this place, this Parliament, you and me. We are the people who protect the most vulnerable in society from harm and yet we stand on the brink of abandoning that role.’
He urged MPs not to cast a vote ‘for despair’, arguing the debate should be the beginning of a conversation ‘about dying well in which we have a better idea than a state suicide service’.
Sir Keir Starmer, who ultimately voted in favour of the bill, declined to say how he would vote ahead of the division in the Commons, with Downing Street saying ‘Ministers must be able to vote according to their conscience’.
They added: ‘The Prime Minister is on record as saying he’s not going to say or do anything that will put pressure on other people in relation to their vote.’
MPs were given a free vote as assisted dying is deemed a ‘matter of conscience’, similar to debates on issues such as abortion or the death penalty.
The Bill will allow terminally ill people in England and Wales with less than six months to live to have the choice to end their life at the time of their choosing.
Similar laws are in place in countries like Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a number of US states.
However, opponents of the Bill have warned that the legislation could be the ‘thin end of the wedge’, citing Belgium, who have dramatically liberalised their assisted dying rules.