“This is a historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people.”
A majority of MPs have voted today, Friday 29 November, to support Kim Leadbeater MP’s landmark assisted dying Bill, bringing safe and compassionate choice at the end of life closer than ever before.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would make the choice of assisted dying legal for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, alongside excellent end-of-life care. The Bill’s Second Reading saw an unprecedented turnout of MPs engage in a five-hour long debate; lawmakers’ first opportunity to vote on the issue in almost a decade.
A majority of MPs (330) voted for the Bill to progress to Committee Stage, with only 275 voting against. This marks a significant shift in support since 2015, the last time a Bill on assisted dying came before the House, and reflects the overwhelming public support for the introduction of the choice. In-depth polling has shown that three-quarters of the British public believe that the law should change, with majority support in every constituency in Great Britain.
The Bill will now be considered in depth at the Committee Stage, where every line of the proposed legislation will receive in-depth scrutiny by MPs.
Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said:
“This is a historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people. Parliament has listened to dying people and is reflecting their views, at last. Many will be feeling overwhelming relief and gratitude that, today, our country has moved closer than ever before to a safer and more compassionate law.
“Kim Leadbeater MP has been an incredible advocate for choice at the end of life. She has led this debate with respect, compassion and integrity, and will continue to put a huge amount of time and care into this Bill.
“Significant though this moment is, this is just the start of the journey for the Bill. In the months ahead, it will undergo detailed, clause by clause scrutiny by MPs, with further debate and votes on amendments in both Houses. Kim has asked for as much time as possible to be given for this process, and will take expert evidence, to ensure the Bill is as robust as it can possibly be.
“Today, MPs have voted for choice, safety and compassion. They have expressed the will of the British people and have made history. Now we must make the choice of assisted dying a reality.”
Outside, on Parliament Square, campaigners assembled in their hundreds to send a powerful message of support for the Bill. They included Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of Dame Esther Rantzen, who stood shoulder to shoulder with people with terminal illness and families campaigning for this change. She and others affected by the ban on assisted dying watched the debate from the public gallery, with several MPs referencing them in speeches.
The debate and vote comes almost a year to the day since Dame Esther Rantzen, who is dying with stage four lung cancer, first told Radio 4’s Today programme she had signed up to Dignitas; a moment which galvanised public and political support for an assisted dying law for the UK.
Similar proposals are being considered in the Scottish, Jersey and Isle of Man parliaments, with assisted dying laws for terminally ill adults already in place across Australia, New Zealand and several American states.
An Assisted Dying Bill in the Isle of Man passed its Third Reading in July, and could begin its implementation phase as soon as next year if it is approved by the island’s upper house and receives Royal Assent, with assisted dying potentially an option for terminally ill residents by 2027. Assisted dying proposals are also progressing in the parliaments of Jersey, where a draft bill is being developed after its States Assembly voted overwhelmingly to introduce a bill for terminally ill residents, and in Scotland, where Liam McArthur MSP’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill will is expected to have its Stage 1 vote in the coming months.
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For interview requests please contact Joseph Crook at Dignity in Dying at joseph.crook@dignityindying.org.uk or 07356 135578