UK votes to legalize assisted suicide; final approval of bill pending
United Kingdom lawmakers have passed a bill that, if finalized, will legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales under strict circumstances.
The House of Commons passed a bill by a vote of 330 votes in favor to 275 against. The legislation will next go to committee review before it can be enacted.
The bill allows for medical assistance in dying for any person at least 18 years of age who has fewer than six months to live. The request for assisted suicide also must be approved by a high court judge and two doctors.
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The proposal was divisive among the government, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer supported it while Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting voted against it.
Esther Rantzen, a notable supporter of the bill who is terminally ill with lung cancer, believes that the legislation offers everyone "equal choice" regarding how they end their life.
"Those who don't want an assisted death and don't want to take part in providing assisted dying can opt out of it, don't have to do it, don't choose to end their lives that way," Rantzen told The Guardian. "So it offers everyone equal choice, whatever their religion."
Kit Malthouse, a Conservative Party member and supporter of the bill, argued that the legislation was compassionate by allowing people to avoid pain near the end of their lives.
"The deathbed for far too many is a place of misery, torture and degradation, a reign of blood and vomit and tears," said Malthouse, as quoted by The New York Times. "I see no compassion and beauty in that: only profound human suffering."
Nigel Farage, a member of Parliament known for his past championing of Brexit, was among those who voted against the legislation, fearing that it will inevitably be broadened.
"I voted against the assisted dying bill, not out of a lack of compassion but because I fear that the law will widen in scope. If that happens, the right to die may become the obligation to die," Farage, leader of Reform UK, tweeted.
In recent years, there has been much debate over the thorny ethical issue amid efforts to legalize assisted suicide under certain circumstances.
In 2022, the Church of England General Synod passed a motion by a vote of 289 in favor, 25 against and 33 abstentions to denounce assisted suicide and call on the government to consider alternative approaches, like improve palliative care.
Among advocates for assisted suicide is former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, who has challenged the Church of England's stance, saying the issue is "profoundly Christian."
Opponents of assisted suicide fear that laws could be manipulated by family members or others to pressure vulnerable individuals to opt for assisted suicide.
A recent survey of over 5,000 British adults carried out by Focaldata on behalf of the Care Not Killing coalition found that a majority (59%) believe it is "impossible to create safeguards that would always prevent people from being coerced into assisted dying." About 24% disagreed with that assessment. The survey also found general confusion among the public about what "assisted dying" means, with around half (52%) believing it involved "life-prolonging treatment."
