Debate on legalising assisted dying begins in United Kingdom

Campaigners against the assisted suicide bill hold placards at a demonstration outside The Palace of Westminster in central London on Friday. Pic/AFP

British lawmakers started a historic debate Friday on a proposal to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, an issue that has divided Parliament as well as the country at large.

It's the first time the House of Commons has had the opportunity to vote on legalising what some people call "assisted dying" while others term as "assisted suicide" in nearly a decade - and it looks like it will be a close result.

Ahead of the debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, around 180 lawmakers have indicated they will back the proposal, while about 150 have said they won't. The other 300 or so lawmakers have either yet to make up their mind or have not disclosed how they will vote.

The debate is set to be impassioned, touching on issues of ethics, grief, the law, religion, crime and money. Many lawmakers plan to recount personal experiences while others will focus on the impact on the hard-pressed state-run National Health Service and how to safeguard the most vulnerable from being exploited.

Around 160 members of parliament have indicated they would like to make a speech during the debate, but the speaker of the House of Commons, Lyndsay Hoyle, said it's unlikely that they all will have a chance to do so.

A vote in favour of the bill would send it to another round of hearings, where it will face further scrutiny and votes in both Houses of Parliament. If approved, any new law is unlikely to come into effect within the next two to three years.

160
No. of British MPs who want to make a speech

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