MPs have taken a historic step toward legalising assisted dying in England and Wales after backing a bill that would give some terminally ill people the right to end their lives.
The Commons backed the bill by 330 votes in favour to 275 against, a majority of 55. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves both voted in favour, Labour MPs told the Guardian. The private member’s bill, brought by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, gives terminally ill adults with less than six months to live the right to die once the request has been signed off by two doctors and a high court judge.
Opponents of the bill said patients could be subject to coercion and raised alarm about the level of scrutiny the bill was receiving. Leadbeater told MPs the change was a generational moment and it would have been unlikely to be considered again for a decade.
The change is unlikely to occur for three years as the bill must pass several more hurdles in parliament and will not be brought before MPs again until April. After that it must be voted on again by MPs and go through the House of Lords. Should it become law, there will be a two-year implementation period.
Three-quarters of the public backed a change in the law, according to recent polling.
Rawr