Plans to legalise assisted dying are REJECTED by MPs after knife-edge vote

PLANS to legalise assisted dying were rejected by MPs today after a knife-edge Commons vote. The controversial Bill was defeated by just 16 votes, with 286 MPs voting against and 270 in favour. Assisted dying campaigners react in front of the Houses of Parliament as lawmakers have voted to reject plans to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people Credit: Reuters The defeat is a major blow to campaigners Credit: AFP It would have allowed adults with fewer than six months to live to seek help to end their lives, subject to approval by two doctors and an expert panel. Some MPs cheered and pumped their fists as the result was announced after an emotional four-and-a-half-hour debate, while others hugged in the chamber. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! The defeat is a major blow to campaigners who wanted terminally ill adults in England and Wales to be given the right to seek help to end their lives. MPs had previously backed assisted dying but the original Bill ran out of time in the House of Lords earlier this year. Labour MP Lauren Edwards then brought back near-identical legislation in an attempt to get the plans over the line. She urged MPs to “grasp” the opportunity to deliver “choice and dignity” for people at the end of their lives. But opponents warned safeguards were not strong enough to protect vulnerable people and argued the NHS and social care system were not ready. Former health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed, a cancer surgeon, warned he was “as often wrong as I am right” when asked to predict whether a patient had six months left to live. Most read in The Sun He also described the Bill as being “less about relieving suffering and more about bypassing its possibility”. Labour former minister Janet Daby also revealed she had switched sides after backing assisted dying previously, saying her “conscience was not at peace” after her earlier vote. She also said: She also said: “I cannot shake from my mind a conversation I had with someone some time ago about assisted dying. “They’d been diagnosed with HIV and Aids, and this was before the time of advanced medication for this illness. Their body was breaking down, and they had been informed that their prognosis was bleak. “They said had assisted dying been an option for them then, they would have taken it. However, it wasn’t an option, and after some time, they have since been stabilised on medication. “They’re in full-time work, and although they do have side effects and they do feel tired, they are living a meaningful life, and they are no longer, as you can imagine, an advocate for assisted dying.” Supporters including former Cabinet ministers Liz Kendall and Hilary Benn argued the law was needed to give dying people greater choice and control over their final days. Mr Benn told MPs terminally ill Brits were already travelling to Switzerland for assisted deaths, while Ms Kendall said people should have “as much control, say and choice over their lives” as possible. Prime Minister Andy Burnham did not vote after saying he did not want to “unduly influence the debate” while the Government remained neutral and MPs were given a free vote. Mr Burnham has previously said Britain’s palliative care system needs to be fixed before assisted dying is legalised. The issue has deeply divided Parliament, with the majority in favour narrowing from 55 at the Bill’s first Commons vote to just 23 at its next hurdle last year. Ms Edwards had warned ahead of today’s crunch vote that it could be another decade before Parliament gets another chance to legalise assisted dying. 4 comments4