Britain took a historic step in support of legalized euthanasia on Friday, June 20, when MPs backed contentious legislation that would introduce assisted dying for terminally ill people. After four hours of emotional debate, lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 314 in favor of the bill, and 291 against, thereby sending the proposal to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
The outcome sparked celebrations among supporters gathered outside parliament who say legalized euthanasia will give people with an incurable illness dignity and choice at the end of their lives. Opponents attending a neighboring counter-protest said they feared vulnerable people could be coerced into dying and urged lawmakers to focus on improving palliative care instead.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow assisted suicide in England and Wales for adults who have been given less than six months to live. They would have to be able to administer the life-ending substance themselves, and any patient’s wish to die would have to be signed off by two doctors and a panel of experts.
A change in the law would see Britain emulate several other countries that allow some form of assisted dying in Europe and elsewhere, including Belgium and the Netherlands.
Several changes
In an initial vote last November, MPs backed the proposed legislation by 330 to 275 votes. Since then, the bill has undergone several changes, including a ban on ads for assisted dying and a clause to allow health workers to opt out of helping someone end their life. MPs in the 650-seat parliament also added a safeguard which would prevent a person being eligible “solely as a result of voluntarily stopping eating or drinking,” ruling out people with anorexia.
Britain’s medical community and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s top ministerial team are split on the proposed law change, with health and justice secretaries publicly opposing it. But a YouGov poll of 2,003 adults surveyed last month and published on Thursday showed 73% of respondents backed an assisted dying law.
The House of Lords now needs to approve the legislation before the end of the current parliamentary year, likely in the fall, or the bill will fail. If it passes and receives royal assent, it would still be four years before an assisted dying service is implemented. A government impact assessment published this month estimated that approximately 160 to 640 assisted deaths could take place in the first year, rising to a possible 4,500 in a decade.
Assisted suicide currently carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Separate legislation is going through the devolved Scottish parliament. At the end of March, the Isle of Man became the first British territory to pass an assisted dying bill.
