MPs vote against fresh attempt to legalise assisted dying

ByRichard Wheeler

Political reporter

MPs have voted against proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, bringing the latest effort to change the law to an end.

Following a debate in which both sides made emotional speeches, the House of Commons voted 286 to 270 - a majority of 16 - against the proposed legislation.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would have allowed adults with fewer than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life, subject to certain safeguards.

A similar bill in the last parliamentary session was supported by MPs before stalling in the House of Lords. The decision from MPs on Friday rules out the prospect of changes to the law on assisted dying in the short term.

The bill tabled by Labour MP Lauren Edwards will make no further progress, although MPs and peers could make another attempt in the next parliamentary session.

Assisted dying is an issue that has been debated for hundreds of hours in Parliament over the last two years and would have represented one of the biggest societal changes in recent years had it been approved.

MPs were given a free vote, meaning they were not required to vote along party lines.

Safeguards within the bill included a requirement that a person applying for an assisted death had the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.

But critics said it included too few measures to protect vulnerable people from being coerced into ending their lives, while some say improving palliative care should be the priority.

There were emotional scenes outside Parliament from both sides after MPs voted against giving the bill a second reading.

Dame Esther Rantzen, who was unable to join supporters in Parliament Square, told the BBC that it was "so sad that people in this country won't have the choice" that terminally ill adults in other countries have.

The Childline founder said: "I am sure a change in the law will come. I am deeply sad that it won't come soon enough for many of the people who need it, it's a tragic day."

The broadcaster, 86, is terminally ill with cancer and has said she was now "too physically fragile" to travel to Switzerland to end her life at an assisted suicide clinic.

Edwards, the Labour MP for Rochester and Strood, said: "Parliament has dropped the ball today.

"It will be picked up again as it must be, because the law as it stands is simply too cruel and too unjust to be allowed to stand."

Labour peer and former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett told BBC Newsnight that it was a "bad day for democracy".

The issue was "clearly not going away" and would re-emerge "in a year or two's time", he added.

Those in favour of a change in the law have said they will try to bring forward legislation again, with Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who introduced the original bill, telling the BBC another attempt could come as soon as next year.

Labour MPs Ashley Dalton, Dame Meg Hillier and Jess Asato, who all opposed the "unsafe and unworkable" bill, welcomed the MPs' decision.

They said in a joint statement: "This is not a moment for celebration, we understand the deep concerns of so many people across the country who have campaigned hard for a change in the law.

"But the truth is none of the relevant royal medical colleges, professional groups or experts will attest to the safety or workability of this bill."

They said there was a need to "fix our NHS and sort out social and palliative care before we even consider introducing assisted dying".

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said "thousands of terminally ill people will continue to suffer against their wishes in their last days and weeks".

She added that she still believed law change was "inevitable".

Care Not Killing chief executive Gordon Macdonald described the vote as "decisive".

He said: "Our hope is that MPs now focus on repairing palliative care in the UK and securing the necessary funding to make sure that no matter what part of the country you live in, you can access the best possible care available and are treated with dignity and respect."

The bill in the last parliamentary session brought by Leadbeater cleared Commons with a majority of 23.

But it ran out of time to progress through all the necessary stages in Parliament after some peers in the House of Lords tabled more than 1,200 amendments.

During the debate, Labour MP Janet Daby was among those to confirm she would vote against the bill despite previously supporting it.

She told the Commons she had "nightmares about dying and death" after voting in favour of the last bill, adding: "I had to wrestle with myself, knowing that I was not entirely comfortable with the decision I had made and my conscience was not at peace, and I cannot again, in good conscience, vote for the bill."

In another of the personal testimonies during the debate, Labour MP Claire Hazelgrove spoke about her mother's decision to bring her late-stage terminal illness to an end "on her terms".

The MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke said the "harmful status quo" meant her mother had died alone in October of last year, after living with a rare blood cancer for half her life.

Hazelgrove argued that "not all pain can be palliated".

Conservative MP Martin Vickers said his "firm" view was that "if assisted dying is legalised we will be poorer as a society, we will have a crossed a line", adding it would also change the "relationship between doctor and patient".

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Gordon called for a change in the law and described the bill as "better than what we currently have, which offers no safeguards and no protections for people in those final moments".

Prime Minister Andy Burnham did not vote on the bill on Friday, previously describing it as "a matter for Parliament to decide".

He has said he personally believed that funding for end-of-life care in the UK should be improved before legalising assisted dying is considered.