British MPs back assisted dying bill

UK lawmakers voted Friday in favour of assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales, advancing the emotive and contentious legislation to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny.

Campaign group Dignity in Dying hailed the result as a "historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people", but Christian Concern called it a "very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country".

MPs voted by 330 to 275 in support of legalised euthanasia in the first vote on the issue in the House of Commons for nearly a decade.

The result followed an emotionally charged debate that lasted almost five hours in a packed and hushed chamber, and as competing protesters made their voices heard outside parliament.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill now progresses to the next stage where lawmakers can propose amendments, a process likely to be vexed.

The legislation would then face further votes in the Commons and House of Lords upper chamber.

The process will likely take months and if it is ultimately passed then a change in the law is expected to be several years away.

The House of Commons last debated, and defeated, a euthanasia bill in 2015, but public support for giving terminally ill people the choice to end their lives has since shifted in favour, polls show.

A change in the law would see Britain emulate several other countries in Europe and elsewhere who allow some form of assisted dying.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is behind the bill, told the debate that changing the law would give terminally ill people "choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives".

Advocates also argue that it would make some deaths less painful.

But other MPs expressed concern that people might feel coerced into opting for euthanasia, while some said they were worried it would discriminate against people with disabilities.