British lawmakers initially approve a bill that would allow terminally ill adults to end their lives

On By Pranco

Brian Melley and Pan Pylas
| Associated press

London – British lawmakers on Friday initially approved a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales.

After a passionate debate, members of parliament approved the so-called assisted dying bill by 330 votes to 275.

The vote signals that lawmakers approve the bill in principle and sends it on to further scrutiny in parliament. Similar legislation failed that important first test in 2015.

The vote came after hours of debate – sometimes emotional – on issues such as ethics, grief, the law, faith, crime and money. Hundreds of people from both sides of the issue gathered outside Parliament.

Supporters said the law would give dignity to the dying and prevent unnecessary suffering, while providing sufficient safeguards to prevent those near the end of their lives from being forced to commit suicide. Opponents said it would put vulnerable people at risk, potentially forced, directly or indirectly, to end their lives so they don’t become a burden.

The bill’s supporters told heartbreaking stories of constituents and family members suffering in the final months of their lives and dying people committing suicide in secret because it is currently a crime for anyone to provide aid.

“Let’s be clear: we’re not talking about a choice between life and death, we’re talking about giving dying people a choice about how they want to die,” the bill’s lead sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, said in opening remarks in a crowded room. .

She admitted that it is not an easy decision for lawmakers, but that “if any of us want an easy life, he is in the wrong place.”

Opponents spoke of the danger that vulnerable, elderly and disabled people could be forced to choose assisted death to save money or ease the burden on family members. Others alternatively called for improvements in palliative care to alleviate suffering.

Danny Kruger, who led the argument against the bill, said he believes Parliament can do “better” for terminally ill people than a “state suicide squad” and that it is the legislature’s role to provide safeguards for the most vulnerable.

“We are the protection, this place, this Parliament, you and me,” he said. “We are the people who protect society’s most vulnerable from harm and yet we are about to give up that role.”

Although the bill was proposed by a member of the ruling centre-left Labor Party, it was an open vote that saw the formation of alliances that bring together those who are usually political enemies.

In essence, the bill would allow adults over the age of 18, who are expected to have less than six months to live, to request and receive assistance to end their lives, subject to safeguards and protections. They should be able to take the deadly drugs themselves.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has previously backed assisted dying, said the government would remain neutral and would not reveal how he will vote. Some members of his cabinet had said they would support the bill, while others opposed it. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said she would vote against it.

Other countries that have legalized assisted suicide include Australia, Belgium, Canada and parts of the United States, with rules on who is eligible varying by jurisdiction. More than 500 Britons have ended their lives in Switzerland, where law allows assisted death for non-residents.

Assisted suicide differs from euthanasia, permitted in the Netherlands and Canada, in which healthcare providers administer a lethal injection at the patient’s request in specific circumstances.