British MPs vote in favour of assisted dying bill after fierce debate

British lawmakers on Friday (Nov 29) voted in favour of the controversial assisted-dying bill for England and Wales, allowing the legislation to move to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny. 

UK MPs voted by 330 to 275 in support of legalised euthanasia in the first vote in the House of Commons for nearly a decade.

The vote came after a fierce debate where lawmakers were deciding whether or not to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill patients, a contentious proposal that would make the United Kingdom one of the countries to allow terminally ill people to end their lives. 

UK parliament began a second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill on Friday, for assessing whether mentally competent adults with an incurable illness and who have a life expectancy of less than six months should be allowed to end their lives with medical help. 

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the measure, opened the debate in Westminster, saying that changing the law would give terminally ill people “choice, autonomy, and dignity at the end of their lives”.

Also read: End of Life Bill: All you need to know about UK's proposed assisted dying legislation

“Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about a choice between life or death, we are talking about giving dying people a choice about how to die,” Leadbeater said. 

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who is leading opposition to the bill, labelled it as “too big” and “too flawed” to pass.

Watch | UK: Assisted Dying Bill | What Does It Say?

If passed, Britain will be added to the list of countries that have allowed assisted dying in some form, including Canada, New Zealand, Spain and most of Australia. 

The Members of Parliament in the UK have been given a free vote on the issue, which means that they can support either side according to their conscience, with no political ramifications. 

“Parliament is tearing itself in two over this,” Rachael Maskell, a Labour MP and prominent opponent of the process, told CNN, adding, “MPs are showing signs of stress, having to make this decision in such a short time frame...It’s occupying everybody’s complete thoughts.”

(With inputs from agencies)