UK parliament votes for assisted dying law paving way for historic law change

On Friday, Britain’s parliament voted in favor of a bill to legalize assisted dying, marking the country’s most significant social reform in decades.

A total of 314 lawmakers supported the bill, while 291 opposed it, overcoming its major parliamentary obstacle.

The proposed “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” law would grant mentally competent adults in England and Wales, who are terminally ill with six months or less to live, the right to choose medically assisted death.

This decision positions Britain alongside countries like Australia and Canada, as well as certain US states, in allowing assisted dying.

Advocates argue the law will offer dignity and compassion to those suffering, whereas critics fear that vulnerable individuals might be pressured into ending their lives.

Next, the bill will move to the House of Lords, Britain’s upper chamber, where it will undergo months of review. Although amendments may be made, the unelected Lords are unlikely to block a bill passed by the elected House of Commons.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government took a neutral stance, allowing MPs to vote according to their personal beliefs rather than party lines. Starmer himself has previously expressed support for assisted dying.

Public opinion polls show most Britons favor assisted dying. Friday’s vote came after lengthy, emotional debates, including personal testimonies, and followed an earlier vote in November endorsing the bill in principle.

This vote arrives ten years after the last parliamentary rejection of assisted dying legislation.

Opponents argued that ill individuals might feel compelled to end their lives out of concern for burdening family or society. Some MPs withdrew their support since last year, citing concerns that the bill’s safeguards had been weakened.

The 314 to 291 result contrasts with November’s 330 to 275 approval.

Originally, the bill required court authorization for assisted deaths, but this was replaced by a review panel consisting of a social worker, a senior legal expert, and a psychiatrist—an adjustment seen by some as less stringent.

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who introduced the bill, maintained that it still includes some of the strongest protections worldwide against coercion of vulnerable people.

Outside parliament, hundreds of both supporters and opponents gathered to watch the vote on their phones.

Supporters chanted slogans like “my decision, my choice,” holding signs that read “my life, my death” and displayed photos of loved ones who had died in pain.

Opponents held placards stating “let’s care not kill” and “kill the bill not the ill.”