The British parliament has narrowly voted in favor of a bill to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill people, marking a landmark moment of social reform in the country’s history. The legislation passed by a vote of 314-291 in the House of Commons on Friday, clearing its biggest parliamentary hurdle, and will now undergo months of scrutiny in the House of Lords, Britain’s upper chamber.
The “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” Bill gives mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales, who have six months or less left to live, the right to choose to end their lives with medical assistance. Patients will have to be capable of taking fatal drugs by themselves after receiving a green light from doctors and a panel including a social worker, a senior legal figure, and a psychiatrist. Assisted suicide is different from euthanasia, where a healthcare practitioner or other person administers a lethal injection at a patient’s request.
Supporters of the bill say it will ensure dignity and compassion for people with a terminal diagnosis, who must be given a choice over whether or not to relieve their suffering. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the bill, told The Guardian newspaper that terminally ill people should be given rights over their bodies similar to those that allow a woman to choose an abortion. “As much as I will fight for the rights of disabled people to be treated better by society, I will also fight for the rights of dying people,” she said.
Opponents worry that vulnerable people could be coerced into ending their lives or feel pressured to do so for fear of becoming a burden to their families and society. Care Not Killing, a group that opposes the law change, called the bill “deeply flawed and dangerous” and argued that politicians had not been given enough time to consider its implications.
Assisted dying laws have been introduced in several countries. About 300 million people around the world have legal access to this option, according to Dignity in Dying. In Europe, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, and Austria have some form of legalized assisted dying. In the United States, the practice is known as “physician-assisted dying” and is legal in 10 states, while in Australia, it has been legal in every state since 2022.