HISTORIC VOTE

U.K. Lawmakers Vote to Pass Assisted Suicide Bill

The bill garnered cross-party support among a divisive parliament.

A group of British lawmakers helped clear the way on Friday for the U.K. to legalize assisted suicide, according to The New York Times. The House of Commons voted to approve the bill (330 to 275) that would allow terminally ill patients in England and Wales to work with their doctors to end their lives early. The process is currently legal in a handful of countries—along with 10 U.S. states—but those who’ve sought to help British patients in the past have faced potential prosecutions. The bill was proposed by a Labour Party member, but it has amassed support from members of various parties for its attempts to curtail self-induced death without assistance. “The deathbed for far too many is a place of misery torture and degradation, a reign of blood and vomit and tears,” Conservative Party member and bill supporter Kit Malthouse told the Times. “I see no compassion and beauty in that: only profound human suffering.” The legislation will now move through various parliamentary committees and face potential amendments.