UK MPs face crucial vote on divisive assisted dying bill

Many politicians are still undecided on whether the terminally ill should be allowed to end their lives.

Lawmakers in Britain are debating divisive legislation on assisted dying for terminally ill patients ahead of what is expected to be a knife-edge vote of conscience.

Parliament started a second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill on Friday, assessing whether mentally competent adults with an incurable illness who have a life expectancy of less than six months should be allowed to end their lives with medical help.

Opening the debate, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the measure, said changing the law would give terminally ill people “choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives”.

Those in favour of the bill, which would apply in England and Wales, argue that it is about shortening the death of those who are terminally ill and giving them more control. Opponents believe vulnerable, ill people will feel pressured to end their lives to avoid being a burden to their families.

“Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about a choice between life or death, we are talking about giving dying people a choice about how to die,” Leadbeater said, as supporters of both sides gathered outside parliament.

Two polls last week indicated that a majority of people back the proposed legislation, but many members of parliament indicated that they had yet to make up their minds ahead of the free vote, which will see them casting votes according to their conscience rather than along party lines.

Protesters opposed to the bill hold placards as they gather outside parliament in London [Mina Kim/Reuters]

Leadbeater has said that the bill would include “the strictest safeguards anywhere in the world” – any patient’s wish to die would have to be signed off by a judge and two doctors.

But support in parliament appears less secure, with some MPs saying the current proposal lacks detail and needs to be underpinned by more research to study the legal and financial implications of a law change.

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle rejected a bid on Friday by a group of MPs to halt further debate on the bill. They had previously lodged a proposed amendment, which could stop the bill from progressing to a vote.

If MPs vote in favour of the bill, it will proceed to the next stage of the parliamentary process, and face further votes in 2025.

If the United Kingdom eventually passes the law, it will join other countries like Australia, Canada and some US states in launching the major social reform.

Since the 1961 Suicide Act, it has been illegal in England and Wales to encourage or assist suicide, and those found guilty face up to 14 years in prison.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies