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Legislative bills

Majority of MPs Back Assisted Dying Bill with Narrow Majority

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

A majority of MPs have supported a bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives, with many MPs sharing personal stories of loved ones who had died. The proposed legislation, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, completed its first stages in the Commons and will move to the House of Lords for further debate and scrutiny. The bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, aims to offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people who want to make it.

The vote, which took place on Friday, saw 314 MPs back the bill, while 291 voted against it, with a majority of 23. This is the first time the bill has been debated and voted on in its entirety since last year's historic yes vote, when MPs supported the principle of assisted dying for England and Wales by a majority of 55 at second reading.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill completed its first stages in the Commons and will move to the House of Lords for further debate and scrutiny.
  • The bill aims to offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people who want to end their lives, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure, and psychiatrist.
  • 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.
  • Public support for a change in the law remains high, with a YouGov poll suggesting 73% of those asked were supportive of the Bill, while the proportion of people who feel assisted dying should be legal in principle stood at 75%.
  • The bill would introduce a four-year implementation period, which could mean that assisted dying is not available until 2029.
  • Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.
  • Supporters of assisted dying have described the current law as not being fit for purpose, with desperate terminally ill people feeling the need to end their lives in secret or go abroad to Dignitas for fear of prosecution.

Statistics:

  • 314 MPs backed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, while 291 voted against it, with a majority of 23.
  • 73% of those asked in a YouGov poll were supportive of the Bill, while 75% felt that assisted dying should be legal in principle.
  • The bill would introduce a four-year implementation period, which could mean that assisted dying is not available until 2029.

Sources:

  • PA News Agency: A majority of MPs back assisted dying bill with narrow majority.
  • YouGov: Assisted dying poll (2023).
  • Image: Labour MP Kim Leadbeater makes a statement in the House of Commons, London, on the third reading of the assisted dying Bill.
  • Image: Dame Prue Leith joins activists from Dignity in Dying in support of the assisted dying Bill in Parliament Square, central London, ahead of a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons.

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