MPs have paved the way for assisted dying to become legal in England and Wales despite some switching sides to oppose a new law – reducing its majority by more than half.
Kim Leadbeater described backing for her Bill in the Commons as “a convincing majority”, after the number was slashed from 55 in November to 23 on Friday.
The Labour MP declared “thank goodness” after the result, but hospices are among those warning of the “seismic change” for end-of-life care.
Staunch supporter Dame Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill but has said a new law is unlikely to come in time for her, thanked MPs for doing their bit to protect terminally ill people from a “bad death”.
She told the PA news agency: “This will make a huge positive difference, protecting millions of terminally ill patients and their families from the agony and loss of dignity created by a bad death.
“Thank you, Parliament.”
While 314 MPs voted for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at third reading, 291 voted against.
Some 14 MPs switched from voting in favour to against, while only one MP – Labour’s Jack Abbott – switched from voting no to voting yes.
The proposed legislation will now move to the House of Lords for further debate and votes, although one peer has already urged her colleagues they “must oppose a law that puts the vulnerable at risk”.
Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England, said instead work is needed to better fund access to “desperately needed palliative care services”.
Her sentiment was echoed by a range of end-of-life care organisations including Marie Curie, which said legalising assisted dying will make it “more crucial than ever” for governments across the UK “ensure that there is palliative care available for anyone who needs it”.
Ahead of the vote, MPs approved a change to the Bill, which will require ministers to assess within a year of any new law coming into effect the quality and distribution of palliative care services currently available and the impact of an assisted dying service on them.
The charity said while it welcomed the change, “this will not on its own make the improvements needed to guarantee everyone is able to access the palliative care they need”.
Ms Leadbeater said the vote result was one that “so many people need”, insisting her Bill has enough safeguards and will “give dying people choice”.
Asked about the narrower gap between supporters and opponents, Ms Leadbeater said she knew there would be “some movement both ways” but insisted the vote showed a “convincing majority”.
She told reporters: “The will of the House (of Commons) will now be respected by the Lords, and the Bill will go through to its next stage.”
Acknowledging those who remain opposed to the Bill, she said she is “happy to work with them to provide any reassurance or if they’ve got any questions about the Bill that they want to talk through with me, my door has always been open and remains open”.
Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who opposes the Bill, said support “is ebbing away very fast”, telling of his disappointment the Bill passed but adding: “The fact is, their majority’s been cut in half.”
Campaigners wept, jumped and hugged each other outside Parliament as the vote result was announced, while some MPs appeared visibly emotional as they left the chamber.
Others lined up to shake hands with Ms Leadbeater, the Bill’s sponsor through the Commons, with some, including Home Office minister Jess Phillips, stopping to hug the Spen Valley MP.
Before a Bill can be signed into law, both the Lords and the Commons must agree the final text.
Thanks to the four-year implementation period, it could be 2029 – potentially coinciding with the end of this Government’s parliament – before assisted dying is offered.
Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer remained supportive of the Bill, voting yes on Friday as he had done last year.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who had urged MPs to vote against the legislation, describing it as “a bad Bill” despite being “previously supportive of assisted suicide”, voted no.
During an hours-long date on Friday, MPs on both sides of the issue recalled personal stories of loved ones who had died.
Conservative former minister Sir James Cleverly, who led the opposition to the Bill in the Commons, spoke of a close friend who died “painfully” from cancer.
He said he comes at the divisive issue “not from a position of faith nor from a position of ignorance”, and was driven in his opposition by “concerns about the practicalities” of the Bill.
MPs had a free vote on the Bill, meaning they decided according to their conscience rather than along party lines.
The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.
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