Key Takeaways
- British lawmakers rejected a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people.
- The vote was 286 to 270 in the House of Commons.
- Campaigners say the issue is not going away and will continue to be debated.
British lawmakers have rejected a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people, dealing a significant blow to campaigners and extending a long-standing debate over end-of-life care.
The legislation, proposed by Bill sponsor Lauren Edwards, a Labour Party lawmaker, was defeated by 286 votes to 270 in the House of Commons. The bill would have allowed terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or fewer to live to end their lives with medical assistance, following approval from a panel of professionals.
Despite the previous year’s backing for the legislation, the bill failed at its first parliamentary hurdle, unable to be revived during the current legislative session, which is expected to run until the spring of next year.
Dignity in Dying, one of the groups campaigning for the bill, described the outcome as a “devastating setback for dying people,” but added that the issue is not going away. The group stated, “this issue is not going away. Law change on assisted dying remains a matter of when, not if.”
Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of campaign group Care Not Killing, welcomed the result, saying lawmakers had recognised concerns that changing the law could put pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives prematurely. He stated, “Our current laws protect vulnerable people and (members of parliament) have rightly said they do not need changing; it’s time to move beyond this debate and fix palliative care.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has previously said the debate over legalising assisted dying should wait until Britain’s palliative and adult social care systems had been improved, did not take part in Friday’s vote. His government remained neutral on the legislation and allowed lawmakers to vote according to their conscience.
The latest legislation was identical to the bill approved by lawmakers last year, a move supporters hoped would eventually allow them to use the Parliament Acts, which give the lower house supremacy over the upper chamber to overcome opposition in the House of Lords if peers again refused to pass it.
During Friday’s debate, Edwards said improving end-of-life choice did not have to come at the expense of vulnerable people, but the vote outcome suggests that the debate will continue in the coming months and years.
This is a hugely disappointing result not for me but for the many thousands of terminally ill people and their loved ones who were given hope when the Commons voted for this Bill last year.
Lauren Edwards, Labour Party lawmaker
Our current laws protect vulnerable people and (members of parliament) have rightly said they do not need changing; it’s time to move beyond this debate and fix palliative care.
Gordon Macdonald, Chief executive of campaign group Care Not Killing
