UK lawmakers approve bill allowing assisted dying.

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On Friday, the House of Commons in England and Wales approved a bill that would legalize assisted dying for terminally ill adults.

The assisted dying bill passed 330 to 275 in Britain's lower house and will undergo further examination in Parliament before a final vote by lawmakers.

The proposed bill would enable individuals aged 18 and above with less than six months to live to seek assistance in ending their lives, under strict safeguards and protections.

The vote was the culmination of a heated discussion that lasted for hours and involved personal narratives of loss and suffering. The sensitive topic touched upon themes of ethics, grief, law, faith, crime, and money, and attracted a large audience outside parliament.

A significant number of Britons back the idea of assisted dying, as indicated by multiple surveys.

Assisted dying has been legalized in European countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Austria, and Portugal, as reported by Euro News. Switzerland was the first country to allow any form of assisted dying, with the practice being legal since 1941.

In 10 U.S. states, it is legal: Washington, D.C., California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, New Mexico, Maine, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Washington.

The law, according to supporters, would give dignity to the dying and alleviate unnecessary suffering, while also ensuring that individuals near the end of their lives are not pressured into ending their own lives.

Some opponents, including faith leaders, argued that the proposed measure would put vulnerable individuals at risk of being pressured, either directly or indirectly, to end their lives in order to avoid becoming a burden.

Under the proposals, two doctors and a High Court judge would need to verify that the person had made the decision voluntarily. Punishing or coercing someone into ending their life would be punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The bill's main sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, stated that the bill is not about choosing between life and death, but rather about giving dying individuals the option to choose their own death method, as she presented the bill to a packed chamber.

Another six months may elapse before a second vote occurs, as she stated.

"She assured reporters that she would gather both written and oral evidence to ensure a thorough and robust bill committee would scrutinize the bill and make it the best possible. She acknowledged that the process would be lengthy, but emphasized that there was a two-year implementation period to ensure accuracy."

The impact of assisted dying on the U.K.'s state-funded public health service, hospice care, and the legal system must be assessed, in addition to how it will be funded.

Danny Kruger, a conservative lawmaker, expressed concern that the bill contains numerous loopholes and that the safety measures are not robust enough.

"I am hopeful that colleagues who have expressed concerns will either succeed in strengthening the bill to make it safe or they'll conclude they haven't been able to do that and then we can defeat it at the later stage, at third reading," he said.

Sir Keir Starmer, the U.K. Prime Minister, voted in favor of the bill. Last month, he expressed his satisfaction with the vote and stated that his government would maintain neutrality on the matter. He also announced that his MPs would be given the freedom to vote according to their conscience, rather than being bound by party lines, as reported by the BBC.

Similar divisions were observed among other political parties, with members of his Cabinet, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood, also opposing the decision.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, stated that he cast a vote against the measure.

"Farage wrote on X that he voted against the assisted dying bill not due to a lack of compassion but because he feared that the law would expand, making the right to die an obligation."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.