By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LONDON (Worthy News) – British legislators have agreed to legalize assisted dying for some terminally ill people, despite concerns the law could be misused to pressure patients deemed ‘unfit’ to live longer.
After five hours of debate in the House of Commons, they voted by 330 to 275 to support the plan that would allow doctors to help patients in England and Wales with less than six months to live to end their lives.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among those voting for the bill, giving terminally ill adults “the right” to die once the request has been signed off by two doctors and a high court judge.
Opponents of the historic bill warned patients in England could be subject to coercion and raised alarm about the level of scrutiny the law received.
Experts say the change is unlikely to occur for three years as the legislation must pass several more hurdles in parliament and will not be brought before legislators again until April.
It must also go through the House of Lords. If it becomes law, there will be a two-year implementation period.
BROAD EMOTIONAL DEBATE
Assisted dying is legal in a handful of European countries, Canada, New Zealand, and in 10 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
However, the decision in Westminster followed weeks of often emotional public debate in Britain on life and death, which commentators said “transcended political affiliations.”
Churches and faith groups across Britain condemned a bill “to allow physician-assisted suicide” and tried to block its November 29 approval by parliamentarians.
“The vote will be very close — many members of Parliament, elected only recently, are having to decide on a life-or-death ethical issue they haven’t considered before,” explained Timothy Dieppe, head of public policy for the advocacy group Christian Concern.
“If they vote against this bill, it will send a powerful signal worldwide that assisted suicide isn’t inevitable and doesn’t constitute progress.”
English, Welsh, and Scottish bishops’ urged opposition to the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,” tabled by Kim Leadbeater from the governing Labour Party, as it would allow life-ending medical help for terminally ill adults over age 18.
‘DUTY TO DIE’
They insist that a change in law will turn a “right to die” into people thinking they have a “duty to die.”
That sentiment was reflected in an open letter signed by the Bishop of London, the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, and the Chief Rabbi.
They wrote that they are “deeply concerned about the impact the Bill would have on the most vulnerable, opening up the possibility of life-threatening abuse and coercion.”
Yet Friday’s vote prepared for a shift that some have compared to Britain’s legalization of abortion in 1967 and the abolition of the death penalty in 1969.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The United States has formally completed its withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the State Department confirmed Tuesday, marking President Donald Trump’s second exit from the global climate pact and fulfilling a key pledge of his administration’s “America First” agenda.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump said Wednesday that “America is back” after the S&P 500 Index, which tracks the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States, surpassed the 7,000-point mark for the first time in its history.
Amid congressional outcry over the Trump administration’s military actions in Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the moves Wednesday and outlined future plans to U.S. lawmakers.
Several blue states appear set to lose electoral college votes while red states will make sweeping gains, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests.
Vladimir Putin met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Kremlin on Wednesday, as Russia moves to safeguard its remaining military bases in Syria following a dramatic shift in power in the war-torn nation.
The U.S. State Department has determined that the Palestinian Authority paid more than $200 million to terrorists and their families in 2025, despite claims by PA President Mahmoud Abbas that the controversial “pay-to-slay” program had been ended.
Atomic scientists on Tuesday moved the symbolic “Doomsday Clock” to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest humanity has ever come to theoretical self-annihilation—yet the warning is not meant to declare destiny. For people of faith, the tightening of the hour carries prophetic weight, echoing past moments when global shaking preceded awakening, repentance, and renewal, serving as a call to restrain destructive paths and realign human choices toward life, wisdom, and peace.