After months of fighting over a potential legislative change, Britain’s parliament approved a new law on Friday that would allow assisted dying. This has ignited a national discourse about end-of-life care and dignity in death.
The “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” bill, which would grant mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales who are evaluated by doctors to have six months or less to live the right to choose to end their lives with medical assistance, was initially approved by 330 lawmakers with 275 voting against it.
It is a historic step toward a legal change that might lead to Britain implementing one of its largest social reforms in a generation, following in the footsteps of nations like Australia, Canada, and some U.S. states.
However, when the bill passes both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the unelected upper house of parliament, it may still be changed or even rejected by a vote. It will be a very thorough process,” Kim Leadbeater, the Labour lawmaker who introduced the bill, told the BBC, adding that the process could take another six months.
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