UK lawmakers vote in support of assisted dying

UK lawmakers vote in support of assisted dying

 British members of parliament have voted to legalize assisted dying, approving a contentious proposal that would make the United Kingdom one of a small handful of nations to allow terminally ill people to end their lives.

Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted by 330 to 275 to support the bill, after an hours-long debate in the chamber and a years-long campaign by high-profile figures that drew on emotional first-hand testimony.

Britain is now set to join a small club of nations to have legalized the process, and one of the largest by population to allow it. The bill must still clear the House of Lords and parliamentary committees, but Friday’s vote marked the most important hurdle.

It allows people with a terminal condition and less than six months to live to take a substance to end their lives, as long as they are capable of making the decision themselves. Two doctors, and then a High Court judge, would need to sign off on the choice.

Canada, New Zealand, Spain and most of Australia allow assisted dying in some form, as do several US states including Oregon, Washington and California.

Debate over the issue sharply divided lawmakers, many of whom have labored to choose a side during an unusually strained week in Westminster. MPs were given a free vote on the issue, meaning they can support either side according to their conscience, with no political ramifications.

In an open letter to MPs ahead of the vote, Esther Rantzen, a BBC TV presenter with advanced lung cancer who has become a prominent supporter of assisted dying, wrote: “Under our current criminal law the only choice for most people who are terminally ill, if they are facing an agonising death, is between suffering, Switzerland or suicide.” Rantzen has previously said she is herself considering using the Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas to end her life.

She urged MPs on all sides to vote on the issue. “This will probably not come before Parliament as an issue to debate for another decade,” she wrote. “How many more will beforced to suffer until then?”

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