Historic debate on legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales begins

LONDON — British lawmakers started a historic debate Friday on a proposal to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, an issue that has divided Parliament as well as the country at large.

It's the first time the House of Commons has had the opportunity to vote on legalizing what some people call “assisted dying” while others term as “assisted suicide” in nearly a decade — and it looks like it will be a close result.

Ahead of the debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, around 180 lawmakers have indicated they will back the proposal, while about 150 have said they won't. The other 300 or so lawmakers have either yet to make up their mind or have not disclosed how they will vote.

The debate is set to be impassioned, touching on issues of ethics, grief, the law, religion, crime and money. Many lawmakers plan to recount personal experiences while others will focus on the impact on the hard-pressed state-run National Health Service and how to safeguard the most vulnerable from being exploited.

Around 160 members of parliament have indicated they would like to make a speech during the debate, but the speaker of the House of Commons, Lyndsay Hoyle, said it's unlikely that they all will have a chance to do so.

A vote in favor of the bill would send it to another round of hearings, where it will face further scrutiny and votes in both Houses of Parliament. If ultimately approved, any new law is unlikely to come into effect within the next two to three years.

A vote against it would kill it.

“Let's be clear, we're not talking about a choice between life or death, we are talking about giving dying people a choice about how to die,” the bill's main sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, said in the opening speech in a packed chamber.

She conceded that it's not an easy decision for lawmakers but that “if any of us wanted an easy life, they’re in the wrong place.”

Although the current bill was proposed by a member of the ruling center-left Labour Party, it is an open vote with no pressure from the government on supporting it.

As the debate started, supporters of both sides gathered outside Parliament.

The contentious bill would allow adults expected to have fewer than six months to live to request and be provided with help to end their life, subject to safeguards and protections. They would have to be capable of taking the fatal drugs themselves.

Lawmakers, who have been holding emotional meetings with constituents and searching their souls, are due to debate the issue that crosses political lines.

Supporters say the law would provide dignity to the dying and prevent unnecessary suffering, while ensuring there are enough safeguards to prevent those near the end of their lives from being coerced into taking their own life. Opponents say it would put vulnerable people at risk, fearing that some would be coerced to end their lives and that some elderly or disabled people may opt for death so they don't become a burden.

It's the first time the House of Commons has debated an assisted dying bill since 2015, when a similar measure failed. Only around a third of the lawmakers from that parliament are still in office.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has previously supported assisted dying, said the government will remain neutral and he wouldn't reveal how he would vote. Some members of his cabinet have said they will support the bill, while others are against it. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, has said she'll vote against.

Under the proposed legislation, only those over 18 years old in England and Wales and who are expected to die within six months can request assisted dying. They must have the mental capacity to make a choice about the end of their life and will be required to make two separate declarations about their wish to die.

Other countries that have legalized assisted suicide include Australia, Belgium, Canada and parts of the United States, with regulations on who is eligible varying by jurisdiction.

Assisted suicide is different from euthanasia, allowed in the Netherlands and Canada, which involves healthcare practitioners administering a lethal injection at the patient's request in specific circumstances.