MPs have voted in favour of assisted dying by 55 votes. This is a historic step and finally puts parliament in line with public opinion. After years of campaigning, My Death, My Decision welcomes this long overdue result and looks forward to supporting the Bill through its next stages.
The result of the vote at the 2nd Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was:
330 in favour,
275 against,
45 abstentions.
213 more MPs voted in favour compared to the last meaningful vote in 2015, where 117 voted for, 329 against. This number no doubt reflects the continued bravery of countless individuals who have spoken up about this issue over recent weeks, months and years.,
Trevor Moore, Chair of My Death, My Decision says:
“Thousands of people will be heartened by this result. Every day, 20 people in the UK are suffering unbearable pain at the end of their lives despite receiving the best possible care. For them, the choices are stark and harrowing: travel to Switzerland, and end their life by suicide, stop eating or drinking, or face an agonising natural death. These people deserve better. They deserve the dignity of choice at the end of their lives, and we are relieved to see MPs acknowledge this.
We are glad that MPs listened to the public and the evidence, and we hope this Bill will pass its subsequent stages through further respectful and essential debate.”
Justian Hansen will forever be affected by the memories of his mother’s agonising death from cancer in 2021, at the age of 82. Witnessing her final weeks has solidified Justian’s support for the legalisation of assisted dying. Justian said:
“I would not wish anyone to hold the memory of my mothers’s final week. There was no saving her – no last-second miracle cure – nothing but a slow agonising pain-filled death by starvation. She was fully capable and able and when she could endure no more, she said: ‘Tonight- that’s enough, this pain is too much, let me go.’ I would give anything to have her here today, but I would give everything to have given her what she wanted.”
“I am so relieved to see that politicians have done the right thing today. My dear mother deserved so much more than begging to die. I know it is too late for her, but it isn’t too late for others and this is another step towards dying people being shown compassion. Today is a good day.”
Introduced by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater MBE, the Bill will allow adults who are terminally ill with six months or fewer left to live to ask for help to end their own lives. This vote is only one step in the passage of this legislation, and the Bill will now go to a Committee Stage for several months of scrutiny before a final vote in the House of Commons next year.
The Bill applies to England and Wales only. A private member’s bill in Scotland by Liam McArthur MSP has been introduced in the Scottish Parliament.
Notes:
Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request
For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033.
Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.
My Death, My Decision is a grassroots campaign group that wants the law in England and Wales to allow mentally competent adults who are terminally ill or intolerably suffering from an incurable condition the option of a legal, safe, and compassionate assisted death. With the support of over 3,000 members and supporters, we advocate for an evidence-based law that would balance individual choice alongside robust safeguards and finally give the people of England and Wales choice at the end of their lives.
