The British Parliament on Friday gave initial approval for a bill that would allow assisted suicide for terminally ill adults, starting the U.K. down a slippery slope that has made the procedure routine rather than a last resort in Canada.
In the vote, 330 lawmakers voted in favor of and 275 opposed the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” bill, which would give mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales deemed by doctors to have six months or less to live the option to kill themselves with medical assistance. Under the bill, doctors can prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients who meet specific criteria.
The legislation must still advance through the House of Commons and the unelected upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords. The Friday vote came after four hours of emotional debate, according to Reuters.
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour lawmaker who introduced the bill, promised that the bill would minimize abuse and corruption by requiring two doctors and a High Court judge to sign off on the patient’s decision to end their life. The penalty for pressuring or coercing someone into ending their life would be up to 14 years in prison.
However, those objecting to the bill says that it targets the most vulnerable members of society and is ripe for exploitation and error. While the current draft sets criteria such as a terminal diagnosis and a prognosis of six months or less to live, it doesn’t account for flawed predictions of life expectancy from doctors. Critics also point out that the U.K. government would better serve ailing and elderly constituents by providing proper palliative care, addressing loneliness, and offering comprehensive support to those nearing the end of life.
Take the example of Canada, whose assisted-suicide laws have expanded over time, and which loosened initial restrictions and claimed many more deaths. In Canada, assisted suicide is among the top six leading causes of death, outpaced only by cancer, heart diseases, Covid, accidents, and cerebrovascular diseases, according to Christian think tank Cardus. In 2016, 2020, and 2022, medically assisted suicides in Canada increased from 1,018 to 7,611 to 13,241 people, respectively. In Belgium, euthanasia cases increased from just over 200 in 2003 to more than 3,423 in 2023, an average of more than nine cases every day.
The U.K. has deliberated instituting assisted suicide for years, with similar legislation being proposed and rejected multiple times. The Assisted Dying Bill of 2015 overwhelmingly failed in Parliament by 330 votes to 118.
Foreign minister David Lammy opposed the recent bill, arguing that politics should be oriented toward “extending life, not shortening it.” Former prime minister Rishi Sunak, whose Conservative Party was defeated by Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in the 2024 general election, said he supported the measure as he believed it would reduce suffering, Reuters reported.