News

MPs vote in favour of assisted dying in historic vote


MPs vote in favour of Assisted Dying Bill

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video

Up Next

Previous Page

Next Page

MPs have voted in favour of assisted dying for the terminally ill, capping off an four-and-a-half-hour emotional and unpredictable debate.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed in its second reading this afternoon with 330 ayes to 275 noes.

Politicians, pundits and the public alike, it was safe to say, had no idea where the vote was going to go. MPs were given a free vote, meaning they could yay or nay on conscience alone rather than toeing a party line.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer – who proposed a similar 2015 proposal – said the government would remain neutral in the vote, adding even less pressure to MPs having to vote in a particular way.

While there is increased public support for assisted dying, whether the bill would pass remained unclear for weeks.

Only hours before the 2.30pm vote began, how roughly half of the 650 MPs would vote was unknown.

Whether the vote would be overhwleming or a knife’s edge was uncertain even on the day of the debate (Picture: Parliament Live)

Britons have for years booked tickets to countries where assisted dying laws are more permissive (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

In the long road to getting a bill in the books, this is just the second reading. In other words, while MPs spent hours debating and voting, it hasn’t been officially passed.

Now the paper will be looked over by a committee before going into a ‘report stage’ where the entire House can hash out any tweaks they want, though this wouldn’t happen until next April.

The bill needs to pass through a third round of voting in the Commons, make it through the House of Lords and get the upper chamber’s seal of approval to finally become law.

People have the ‘right to die’ in some parts of Europe and the US, with one Briton every eight days travelling abroad to die, according to the campaign group Dignity in Dying.

Dignitas, an assisted-dying organisation in Switzerland, told MPs last year that it has helped 540 Britons die.

Faith leaders have spoken out against the changes amid concerns over coercion (Picture: Reuters)

The last time MPs debated assisted dying in 2015, when Parliament overwhelmingly rejected the proposal in a 330-118 vote.

What is the assisted dying bill?

‘Assisted dying’ means a lot of different things depending on who you ask.

It often refers to helping patients who meet well-defined criteria and are on the threshold of dying choose when and how to end their lives. They might receive lethal drugs from a medical practitioner, which they administer themselves.

The bill gives those aged 18 or over in England or Wales the right to choose to end their life if they have received a terminal diagnosis and told they have no more than six months to live.

There are a fair few safeguards in the proposed process:

They must be aged 18 or over …read more

Source:: Metro

      

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *