British lawmakers have rejected a proposal that would have permitted terminally ill adults in England and Wales to end their lives with medical assistance.
After a four-hour debate in the House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was defeated by 286 votes to 270.
The result reversed last year’s outcome, when a nearly identical bill passed by a margin of 23 votes.
The proposal would have allowed adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to seek an assisted death, subject to approval from two doctors and an independent expert panel.
The defeat ends a two-year parliamentary debate during which the Commons backed the measure on two occasions. It ultimately fell because of effective filibustering by unelected peers in the House of Lords.
Lawmakers shared personal accounts and arguments for and against the proposal. The government remained neutral, enabling MPs to vote according to their consciences rather than party instructions.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham did not take part in the vote, saying he did not want to “unduly influence the debate”.
Safeguarding concerns
Critics warned that the bill was unsafe, citing the risk of coercing vulnerable people and inadequate protections for people with disabilities.
Opposition was voiced by the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Archbishop Richard Moth, who called the proposal “wrong in principle” and “deeply flawed.” Sarah Mullally, the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury, also spoke against it.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists raised “serious concerns,” citing “too many unanswered questions about the safeguarding of people with mental illness.”