Assisted euthanasia has moved closer to legalisation in England and Wales after a proposed bill was approved by the UK House of Commons in a landmark vote.
A majority of MPs have backed a bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their days by euthanasia.
Despite warnings from opponents about the safety of a bill they say was passed too quickly, the proposed legislation has taken another step in the parliamentary process.
MPs voted by 314 to 291 (a difference of 23 votes) to approve Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its third reading.
This means that the bill has successfully passed the initial stages of debate in the House of Commons and will be transferred to the House of Lords for further analysis and debate.
Both chambers must approve the final version of the bill before it can be signed into law.
Since the project will take four years to complete, assisted euthanasia may not be offered until 2029, which could coincide with the end of the current UK parliament.
Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently a criminal offence in England and Wales and can carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Euthanasia advocates argue that the current law is failing to serve its purpose because desperate terminally ill people feel compelled to commit suicide in secret or travel abroad to Dignitas alone for fear that their loved ones will be persecuted for helping them.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
