The UK's House of Commons on Friday voted in favour of a bill that may pave the way for terminally ill people in England and Wales with just six months to live to end their lives through medical assistance.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, tabled as a private member's bill by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, got 330 votes in favour and 275 against.
The bill is now set for a second reading and further honing and amendments in the House of Lords.
"People across the country will be paying extremely close attention to today's vote, but this is a matter of conscience," a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who voted in favour of the bill, said, according to the Associated Press.
"It is for Parliament to decide changes to the law and the Prime Minister is on record as saying he's not going to say or do anything that will put pressure on other people in relation to their vote.
"Every MP will have to make his or her mind up and decide what they want to do when that vote comes," the person said.
Leadbeater, who carried the bill through all stages, said the bill contains "the most robust safeguards" of any assisted dying legislation in the world.
The safeguards include the requirement of two independent doctors to approve the decision, an approval by a high-court judge, and the person administering the drugs themselves.
The legislation carries a provision of a maximum 14-year prison sentence for anyone who coerces someone to die under the bill's ambit.
"We are not talking about a choice between life or death – we are talking about giving people a choice about how to die," Leadbeater said during a five-hour debate in the Commons.
Among many high-profile politicians, the bill found support in former prime ministers David Cameron and Rishi Sunak, and recently elected British Indian Conservative MP Neil Shastri-Hurst, who has worked as a surgeon and medical barrister.
Of its many detractors were shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel and former home secretary Suella Braverman.
A version of the bill was defeated in 2015.
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