Commons rejects assisted dying bill for England and Wales
MPs voted 286–270 against Labour MP Lauren Edwards’s private member’s bill at second reading, making enactment before the next general election unlikely.
The House of Commons has rejected a bill that would have legalised assisted dying for eligible adults in England and Wales, voting 286–270 against allowing the measure to proceed beyond its second reading.
The bill was introduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards as a private member’s bill. Assisted dying is treated as a conscience issue, with the government not sponsoring legislation on the matter.
The defeat is likely to prevent assisted-dying legislation from being enacted before the next general election, although the vote does not create a permanent legal ban. It rejected this bill at an early stage of the legislative process.
The Guardian reported that a near-identical bill passed the Commons in the previous parliament but was subsequently blocked in the House of Lords. That proposal covered adults with a terminal illness and less than six months to live, subject to approval by an expert panel.
The vote marks a setback for efforts to change the law in England and Wales, after the earlier Commons approval had suggested the issue could advance through Parliament.
