Today, parliamentarians took the first step to approve one of the most historic laws of the last decade.
The Commons passed the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which upholds the right of patients with less than six months to live to seek an assisted death in England.
The result was obtained by a narrow majority: 330 votes against 275, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer among the politicians in favor.
But today’s events do not mean that assisted dying in England is a certainty.
The nation will not know whether assisted dying will be enshrined in law until next year at the earliest.
This is because the bill will now move to a committee stage where MPs can table amendments, before facing further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the bill to Parliament, has said it would probably be two more years before an assisted dying service would exist.
But if the law is finally approved, what will it mean in practice?
MPs have voted 330 to 275 in favor of assisted dying, although we won’t know if the bill becomes law until at least next year.
The bill includes a number of stipulations about who could seek help to end their life and how they could do so.
First, two independent doctors must confirm that the patient meets the following criteria.
Those who qualify must be over 18, live in England and Wales and have been registered with a GP within the last year.
They must be considered to have the mental capacity to make the decision to end their own life and not be pressured by others to do so.
A medical team must have calculated a grim prognosis: less than six months.
The patient must also make two separate statements of their wish to die to ensure that the decision has been properly considered.
If doctors deem the patient eligible, the case is referred to a Superior Court judge, who makes the final decision.
At least two weeks after a positive resolution, the patient can take his own life with the help of a doctor.
The House of Commons approved the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill with a majority of 55 votes to continue its progress through Parliament
Activists supporting the Dignity in Dying campaign group protest in Parliament Square ahead of today’s vote.
The doctor would prepare the lethal medication, although the patient himself administers it.
The bill does not clarify the exact circumstances of the death, including what medication is administered and whether or not the patient would need to be in a medical setting.
Concerns have been raised that “loopholes” in the legislation would put vulnerable patients at risk of making ill-considered decisions.
For example, earlier this month it emerged that doctors will be able to broach the topic of assisted suicide with patients even if they haven’t brought it up themselves.
And anyone who wants help in dying will be able to shop around to find a doctor who will approve their request if their first choice can’t or won’t do the job.
In total, 236 Labor MPs supported the bill along with 23 Conservatives, 61 Liberal Democrats and three UK Reform MPs.
There have also been concerns about the reliability of medical prognoses, given the occasions when they have been incorrect and patients have lived longer than expected.
A recent analysis published by The Telegraph suggested that half of patients who were told they would only live six months survived.
Veteran Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh said: ‘The promised safeguards do nothing to prevent the abuses we have seen in Canada. Vulnerable people need our protection. “This bill is not the answer.”
A recent poll found that 70 percent of people in England support a change in the law, and only 14 percent oppose it.