UK MPs give initial support to assisted dying bill

Under the bill, mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales who are assessed by doctors to have six months or less left to live would be allowed the right to choose to end their lives with medical help.

Those in favour of the bill say it is about shortening the death of those who are terminally ill and giving them more control.

But opponents say vulnerable ill people may feel they should end their lives for fear of being a burden to their families and society, rather than for their own wellbeing.

Bill opponents fear assisted dying legislation safeguards could be watered down at a later stage. (AP PHOTO)

Others expressed concern that there had not been enough time to consider the bill before voting, and highlighted concerns that safeguards applied in other places that have allowed assisted dying have been watered down.

The bill could still be altered or even voted down as it makes its way through both the House of Commons and the unelected upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords.

"It will be a very thorough process," Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who introduced the bill, told the BBC, adding that the process could take another six months.

"There's plenty of time to get this right," she said after more than four hours of debate in the chamber.

"There will be a further opportunity to improve it if we can, and if we can't, then I hope we'll be able to reject it," Conservative MP Danny Kruger, a leading opponent of the legislation, told Sky News, adding he believed it was "impossible to write a bill that is safe".

My letter to constituents on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. I will be voting in favour and wanted to share my reasons why. — Sarah Sackman KC MP (@sarahsackman) If you are unable to access a photographed letter please email me at sarah.sackman.mp@parliament.uk to be sent a copy. pic.twitter.com/XAyqdtxvjcNovember 28, 2024

Leadbeater has vowed the strictest safeguards in the world. 

Under the proposals, two doctors and a High Court judge would need to verify that the person had made the decision voluntarily. 

Pressuring or coercing someone into ending their life would be punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The proposal has stirred a debate across the UK, with former prime ministers, faith leaders, medics, judges, the disabled and ministers in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government weighing in on the subject.

Starmer voted in favour of the bill although several senior members of his government voted against. 

Polls suggest a majority of people in the UK back assisted dying.

Foreign minister David Lammy said he voted against the bill as he believed politics should be about "extending life, not shortening it" while former prime minister Rishi Sunak, whose Conservatives lost to Starmer's Labour in a July election, said he supported the bill as it would reduce suffering.

I'm incredibly grateful to all my constituents who have reached out to me about the Assisted Dying Bill. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) Here's why I voted no 👇� pic.twitter.com/d11aGdoC65November 29, 2024

The bill would change the law in England and Wales. 

Scotland is considering a change to its own law to allow assisted dying while there are no such proposals in Northern Ireland.

People in favour of assisted dying gathered in groups outside parliament on Friday to watch the vote on their mobile phones. 

When the result of the vote was announced some people hugged, cheered or simply cried.

"I am absolutely delighted but obviously extremely emotional," said Liz Reed, 38, as she wiped away tears. 

"I hope this means that something good can come out of something that is really terrible."