Assisted dying might become legal in England and Wales following a groundbreaking vote that allowed proposed legislation to pass its initial stage in the UK parliament, reports RTE.
A majority of MPs backed a bill permitting terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives.
The Commons witnessed emotional moments as politicians from both sides delivered passionate speeches for and against what has been termed a “significant social reform,” reports RTE.
Currently, encouraging or aiding suicide is illegal in England and Wales, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
MPs voted 330 to 275, with a majority of 55, to endorse Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill during its second reading.
Opposition and advocates for change gathered outside parliament prior to the vote, reports RTE.
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The four-and-a-half-hour discussion in the Commons featured MPs arguing for the need to provide options to individuals approaching death.
Labour MP Ms. Leadbeater emphasized that her bill includes stringent safeguards against coercion and argued that a new law would offer society “a much better approach towards end of life.”
She stressed that the intention of assisted dying is not to serve as a replacement for palliative care; instead, when such care falls short of a dying person’s requirements, “the choice of an assisted death should be one element of a comprehensive strategy for end-of-life care,” reports RTE.
Conservative former minister Andrew Mitchell disclosed that he had “completely changed my mind” regarding assisted dying, moving him to tears when hearing stories from constituents whose family members endured “great pain and great indignity” before passing.
Conversely, Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who leads the opposition against the bill, asserted that parliament can offer “better” solutions for terminally ill individuals.
Mr. Kruger noted that his mother, Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith, has been an outspoken advocate for the legalization of assisted dying, reports RTE.
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