UK lawmakers on Friday rejected legislation that would have allowed terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives.
Following an impassioned four-hour debate in the House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was rejected by 286 votes to 270.
The outcome marked a notable reversal from last year, when an almost identical bill passed with a majority of 23 votes.
The bill would have allowed adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
The vote brings an end to a two-year debate in Parliament over assisted dying, during which the House of Commons had backed the measure on two previous occasions. That support was not enough for it to become law, as it was effectively filibustered by unelected lawmakers in the revising House of Lords chamber.
During Friday’s debate, lawmakers shared personal stories and arguments both for and against the proposal. The government remained neutral, allowing MPs to vote according to their consciences rather than along party lines.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham did not take part in the vote, saying he did not want to “unduly influence the debate”.
Concerns over safeguards
Opponents called the bill unsafe, citing the risk of coercion of vulnerable people and insufficient safeguards for people with disabilities.
Opposition to the bill had been voiced by the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Archbishop Richard Moth, who called it “wrong in principle” and “deeply flawed,” as well as the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists also raised “serious concerns”, citing “too many unanswered questions about the safeguarding of people with mental illness."
