MPs have voted to legalise assisted dying, narrowly succeeding with 314 votes in favour to 291 votes against.
The Private Members’ Bill by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater will now be passed to the House of Lords for approval, where a series of amendments will be discussed.
What is the Assisted Dying Bill?
The Bill will allow terminally ill people to end their lives if they:
- Are over 18, live in England or Wales, and have been registered with a GP practice for at least 12 months
- Have clear mental capacity to make the choice and can express their decision in a clear, informed, and voluntary manner
- Make two separate declarations, both witnessed and signed, stating their wish to die
- Are expected to die within six months
- Satisfy two independent doctors and a panel comprising a senior legal figure, a psychiatrist, and a social worker that they are fit to make the decision
If the House of Lords accepts the Bill, it is likely to legally come into effect within four years.
Opening the debate this morning, Ms Leadbeater said her Bill is “cogent” and “workable”, as it has “one simple thread running through it – the need to correct the profound injustices of the status quo and to offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people who want to make it”.
While MPs expressed support for the principle of assisted dying, some raised concerns about the Bill in its current form and the lack of time it has been given to debate it.
Dozens of MPs highlighted that it lacks sufficient safeguards against coercion and does not adequately protect vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, eating disorders, and other conditions.
Meanwhile, others warned that passing the Bill could undermine the availability and quality of palliative care and risk opening the door to profit-driven assisted dying through private healthcare providers.
Diane Abbott’s view on assisted dying
Voting against the legislation, Mother of the House Diane Abbott said: “What could be more unjust than to lose your life because of poorly drafted legislation.
“It is perfectly possible to support assisted dying as I do but not be prepared to vote for this bill.”
However, several MPs publicly changed their minds ahead of today’s vote, warning the bill was “drastically weakened” and vulnerable people were potentially subject to harm.
Steve Darling, the Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay, said he could no longer support it despite being sympathetic to those seeking an assisted dying option.
He said: “I want to see that people have genuine choices at the end of life, but you’ve got to make sure the environment is right and the safeguards are there.
“Without appropriate social care and palliative care being in the right place, people might end up in ‘Hobson choice’, and that is my real fear.”
MPs initially backed the proposal at second reading in November, with 330 MPs voting in favour and 275 against.
