United Kingdom legislators attended a death bill that would allow adults with terminal illnesses to choose to end their lives

London – After hours of passionate debate, British legislators in the House of Commons voted on Friday to approve a bill that would allow adults with terminal diseases in England and Wales to choose to end their lives. The bill approved by 23 votes, with hundreds protesting on the divisive theme outside of Parliament, from both sides of the debate.

The adult bill with terminal diseases (end of life) will now suffer months of scrutiny by the Chamber of Lores, the upper chamber of the Parliament of Great Britain. The lords, who are not chosen, can discuss, delay and amend the bill, but have little power to block the legislation approved by the chosen members of Parliament in the Chamber of the Commons.

The central principle of the bill is that adults over 18 who are considered to have less than six months to live could, after a series of protection checks, receive help to end their lives, in the form of fatal drugs that could be self -administered.

In November, British legislators gave initials approval to the new lawapprove it by 330 votes to 275, a broader margin that indicates that some members of the Parliament changed their mind before Friday’s vote.

Since the first vote, the original bill proposed by the legislator of the Labor Party Kim Leadbeater underwent several changes, including the fall of a provision that would have required a judge to sign any final decision that grants a medically assisted death. The current bill requires that any request be approved by two doctors and a panel that includes a social worker, a superior legal figure and a psychiatrist.

In a debate before Friday’s vote, Leadbeater told Parliament about the many stories he had heard from people who witnessed friends and family suffer traumatic deaths.

“Not supporting the bill today is not a neutral act. It is a vote for status quo,” he said, according to News. “And it fills me with despair to think MPS [Members of Parliament] I could be here in another 10 years listening to the same stories. “

Leadbeater and other supporters of the bill argue that people with terminal diagnoses must have the right to choose whether to continue living. They have cited stories of people who take their own lives in secret because no one could help them legally.

They also argue that it is not fair that people with enough money can currently seek attention from life traveling to Switzerland. More than 500 British have finished their lives in Switzerland, where foreigners can opt for assisted death.

The opponents argue that older or disabled people could be manipulated, openly or undercover, to end their lives, save money or relieve a perceived load on loved ones. Others say that a better useful life and medical care would be a better alternative.

Out of Parliament on Friday, the protesters faced contrasting slogans. Some wore clothes with the phrase: “campaign for dignity in death”, while opponents had banners calling the National State Health Service of the United Kingdom, the “National Suicide Service.”

The vote paves the way for what could be one of the greatest changes in social policy in the United Kingdom since the partial legalization of abortion in 1967.

If the bill approves the Chamber of Lores, it is expected to take another four years to be completely implemented.

• Great Britain
• Euthanasia
• United Kingdom
• Suicide