STORY: :: Dying aid supporters celebrate as British MPs give initial support to bill.
:: London, England
:: November 29, 2024
:: Hilary Hare Duke, Retired probation officer
“It’s a good day, a good day.// I totally respect the people, they protested, and their hearts felt the reasons why they protested. But this is always a choice.”
:: Liz Reed, Protester
“Every day is not going to affect my life. Hopefully not for long. But I look around at the people here and the experiences they had with their loved ones, and it will make those experiences feel even in some small way that they were something, that something good came out of something terrible. “
:: Valerie Plumb, Priest
“It’s totally comforting. It is a relief that there are so many people out there who have hope that they may not have to suffer the way so many loved ones have suffered in the past. This can only be a good result. I feel that the Parliament has listened to the people’s wishes and I am happy.”
The vote paves the way for months of further debate on the issue that has sparked a national debate about dignity in death and the end of life.
In the initial approval of the bill, 333 MPs voted 275 against the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” bill, which would have given mentally ill, terminally ill adults in England and Wales who are examined by doctors to be. six months or less left to live the right to choose to end their life with medical assistance.
It is a historic step in policy change that could see Britain follow other countries such as Australia, Canada and other US states in launching what would be one of the biggest social changes in a generation.