LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Britain’s parliament backed a new bill to allow assisted dying on Friday, kicking off months of wrangling over a possible legal change that has sparked a national conversation about dignity in death and end-of-life care.
In an initial approval of the bill, 330 lawmakers voted in favour with 275 against the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” bill, which would provide for mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales who are assessed by doctors to have six months or less left to live the right to choose to end their lives with medical help.
It is a historic step toward a change in the law that could see Britain follow other countries such as Australia, Canada, and some U.S. states in launching what would be one of its biggest social reforms in a generation.
However, it is likely to be amended or even rejected as it passes through both the House of Commons and the appointed upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords.
“It will be a very thorough process,” Kim Leadbeater, the Labour lawmaker who introduced the bill, told the BBC, adding that the process could take another six months.
“There’s time to get it right,” she said after more than four hours of often emotional debate in the chamber.
Supporters say the bill is about shortening the death of those terminally ill and giving them more control.
Opponents say vulnerable sick people may feel they should end their lives for fear of being a burden to their families and society, rather than focusing on their own wellbeing.
Others felt they had not had time enough to consider the bill before the vote, and pointed out concerns that the safeguards applied in other places that have allowed assisted dying were watered down.
“There will be another chance to make it better if we can, and if we can’t, then I hope that we will be able to defeat it,” Conservative lawmaker Danny Kruger, one of the leading critics of the bill, told Sky News, saying he couldn’t see “how you possibly could write a bill that is safe.”.
Leadbeater has promised the toughest protections in the world. The plans would require two doctors and a High Court judge to ensure that the person had acted voluntarily. Pressuring or coercing someone into killing themselves would carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.
National Debate
The proposal has set off a national debate in Britain, with former prime ministers, faith leaders, medics, judges and ministers in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government weighing in on the issue.
Starmer voted in favour of the bill, though several senior members of his government voted against. Polls suggest a majority of Britons back assisted dying.
According to David Lammy, the foreign minister, he voted against the bill since politics should be about “extending life, not shortening it.” Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose Conservatives lost to Starmer’s Labour in a July election, supported the bill, arguing that it would reduce suffering.
The bill will amend the law in England and Wales. There are no plans in Scotland to alter its law but a change is expected there so that assisted dying will be lawful. There are no proposals either in Northern Ireland.
Advocates of assisted dying who came outside parliament in groups watched the result of the vote on Friday on their mobiles. At the announcement of the outcome of the vote, people hugged, cheered, and cried.
“I am absolutely delighted, but obviously extremely emotional,” said Liz Reed, 38, wiping away tears. “I hope this means that something good can come out of something that is really terrible.”
Leadbeater thanked everyone for the passionate but measured debate-even from those who opposed her bill.
“It is highly emotional, but it’s emotional for many people,” she said. “I just think it’s wonderful that we got this voice here today and now we can carry this onto the next round.”
Reporting by Sarah Young, Alistair Smout, Catarina Demony, Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Elizabeth Piper, Janet Lawrence, Mark Heinrich, Gareth Jones and Hugh Lawson