MPs vote down assisted dying bill in dramatic U-turn
MPs have voted down the assisted dying bill at its second reading, in a dramatic U-turn after it returned to the Commons on Friday, reports BritPanorama.
In the second reading of the bill, put forward by Labour’s Lauren Edwards, MPs voted by 286 to 270 to block the legislation.
This decision followed a series of emotional interventions from MPs across the House. Labour MP Ashley Dalton, who has incurable metastatic breast cancer, urged her colleagues to vote down the proposal.
Simultaneously, MP Claire Hazelgrove publicly detailed her mother’s choice to end her life on her terms amid a terminal illness. She emphasized the “harmful status quo” that forced her mother to die alone last October after suffering with a rare blood cancer for half her life.
Ms. Hazelgrove argued that “not all pain can be palliated,” advocating for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill during its return to the Commons. Dalton countered that individuals with terminal diagnoses are often “scaremongered” into fearing horrific deaths.
Reflecting on her diagnosis, Dalton shared, “The last time this House considered this bill at second reading, I was keeping a secret. Whilst honourable and right honourable members were debating the issue, I was grappling with my own terminal diagnosis.”
She disclosed that she had stage four incurable metastatic breast cancer, which prompted overwhelming feelings of grief and anxiety. “Suicide risk is highest immediately after diagnosis, and it usually falls quickly within three to six months,” she added.
Dalton warned that the bill lacks provisions to support those transitioning into terminal illness or to create necessary safeguards, pointing out the potential for undiagnosed mental health issues influencing an individual’s choice.
She continued, “The idea that it is not possible to alleviate pain and discomfort is false. People have been terrorized with tales of people vomiting up their own feces as though this is commonplace during death. It is vanishingly rare.”
The debate, starting at 9.37am, spanned more than four-and-a-half hours. The draft legislation proposed allowing 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 an expert panel.
Ms. Edwards, who re-introduced the Bill after it previously lapsed, warned Parliament that it could take another decade for the issue to come to the forefront if this legislation did not advance.
The government maintained a neutral stance on the bill, allowing MPs to vote according to their consciences rather than party lines. Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed he would not participate in the vote to avoid influencing the debate unduly.
Campaigners against the bill expressed concerns about inadequate safeguards, fearing that it could put vulnerable individuals at risk of coercion, leading them to choose assisted death out of a sense of being a burden. Conversely, proponents argued the legislation would help ensure those facing terminal diagnoses could avoid painful deaths.
The contentious nature of this legislation reflects broader debates about end-of-life choices and the values surrounding assisted dying in the UK.
