Terminally ill adults in UK may soon have the final say on their own death

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, passed its second reading with 330 votes in favour and 275 against, giving it the green light to progress through a rigorous process of amendments and scrutiny in the House of Lords before it can become law.

The vote, which sparked heated debate, saw MPs given a rare free vote—a chance to follow their conscience rather than party lines.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who supported the bill, was keen to clarify that the issue was personal, not political.

“People across the country will be paying extremely close attention to today’s vote, but this is a matter of conscience,” said a spokesperson for Starmer, adding that the Prime Minister wasn’t about to pressure anyone into voting a certain way. After all, it’s a matter of life and death.

Leadbeater, who’s been campaigning fiercely for the bill, promised that it contains “the most robust safeguards” of any assisted dying legislation globally.

The proposed law would require approval from two independent doctors and a high-court judge, with the individual administering the lethal dose themselves. To deter any pressure from outside sources, the bill proposes a hefty 14-year prison sentence for anyone found guilty of coercing someone into requesting assisted dying.

“We are not talking about a choice between life or death – we are talking about giving people a choice about how to die,” Leadbeater told MPs during a marathon five-hour debate.

The bill, which had the backing of figures like former Prime Minister David Cameron, who argued that people suffering from terminal illnesses should have the option to end their pain, attracted significant support in the lead-up to the vote. However, critics have raised concerns about the potential for vulnerable people to be coerced into making such a decision.

The vote was a dramatic departure from 2015, when a similar bill was rejected at the second reading stage. This time, support came from unlikely quarters, including recently elected British Indian Conservative MP Neil Shastri-Hurst, a surgeon and medical barrister, who argued that everyone should have the right to “the death they deserve.”

Other British-Indian MPs, including former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, also threw their weight behind the bill.

But not everyone was on board. Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel and former home secretary Suella Braverman were among the high-profile figures who voted against the bill, leaving no doubt that the debate over assisted dying is far from over.