UK lawmakers voted on Nov. 29 in favor of assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales, advancing the emotive and contentious legislation to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny.
MPs voted by 330 to 275 in support of legalized euthanasia in the first vote on the issue in the House of Commons for nearly a decade.
The result came following an emotionally-charged debate that lasted almost five hours in a packed and hushed chamber, and as competing protestors made their voices heard outside parliament.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill now progresses to the committee stage where lawmakers can table 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 favor, polls show.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
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.”
“We are not talking about a choice between life or death,” she said. “We are talking about giving dying people a choice of how to die.”
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
Advocates also argue that it would make some deaths less painful.
Leadbeater’s initiative is a so-called private members’ bill and is not part of the government’s agenda, and MPs were given a free vote on the matter, meaning they didn’t have to follow party lines. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had declined to say beforehand how he would vote because he didn’t want to exert influence on others, supported the legislation.
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.
Opponents also worry that the healthcare system is not ready for such a landmark change and that it could cause a decline in investment for palliative care.
“True dignity consists in being cared for to the end,” Conservative MP Danny Kruger said, urging colleagues to reject a “state suicide service.”
Assisted suicide currently carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, which has a separate legal system and devolved powers to set its own health policy, it is not a specific criminal offence. But it can leave a person open to other charges, including murder.
Leadbeater’s bill would allow assisted suicide in England and Wales for adults with an incurable illness who have a life expectancy of fewer than six months and are able to take the substance that causes their death themselves.
Any patient’s wish to die would have to be signed off by a judge and two doctors.
The measures are stricter than assisted dying laws in other European countries and also proposed legislation being contemplated in France.
Consideration is being given to a similar bill in Scotland.
Faith leaders are among the stringent opponents, with nearly 30 signing a joint letter on Nov. 24 arguing they are “deeply concerned” by the plans.
(AFP and Bloomberg)
英國立法者11月29日進行表決，贊成在英格蘭和威爾斯對末期病患施行「協助死亡」，將這項挑起強烈情緒且有爭議的立法推進到下一階段的議會審查。
國會議員以330票對275票支持安樂死合法化，這是下議院近十年來首次就該問題進行投票。
這一結果是在擁擠而肅穆的議事廳中，經過近五小時激辯後得出的，支持與反對雙方示威民眾，同時也在議會外發聲。
這項「末期病患（生命終結）法案」現已進入委員會階段，議員可提出修正案，這可能會是很棘手的過程。
該法案之後會在下議院和上議院進行進一步投票。此過程可能費時數月，若最終通過，變更法律預計要花數年的時間。
下議院上一次辯論並否決安樂死法案是在2015年，但民調顯示，讓末期病患有結束生命的選擇，民眾的態度現已轉向支持。
法律的改變將使英國追隨幾個歐洲國家和其他地方的腳步，允許某種形式的輔助死亡。
推動該法案的工黨議員金‧利德比特在辯論中表示，修改法律將為末期病患提供「在生命結束時的選擇、自主權和尊嚴」。
「我們不是在談論生與死之間的選擇」，她說。「我們是在討論讓垂死的人可以選擇如何死去」。
支持者也認為，這會讓一些死亡變得不那麼痛苦。
利德比特的倡議是所謂的私人草案，不屬於政府的議程，國會議員可自由投票，這表示他們不必遵循政黨路線。首相施凱爾支持這項立法，但他不想對別人施加影響，因此事前拒絕透露他將如何投票。
但其他議員表示擔心可能會有人覺得被迫選擇安樂死，另一些議員則擔心這會歧視殘疾人士。
反對者也擔心醫療系統尚未準備好應對這種具有里程碑意義的改變，以及這可能會造成安寧療護投資的減少。
保守黨議員丹尼‧克魯格表示：「真正的尊嚴在於被照顧到最後」。他敦促同僚拒絕「自殺的國家服務」。
目前，在英格蘭、威爾斯和北愛爾蘭，協助自殺最高可判處14年監禁。
蘇格蘭並未規定協助自殺是一種刑事犯罪，因為蘇格蘭擁有獨立的法律體系，並有權制定自己的衛生政策，但它可能會讓人受其他指控，包括謀殺。
利德比特的法案將允許在英格蘭和威爾斯為患有不治之症、預期壽命不足六個月，且能自行服用致死物質的成年人提供協助自殺。
任何病人的死亡意願都必須得到一位法官及兩位醫師的簽署同意。
這些措施比其他歐洲國家的安樂死法律，以及法國審議中的相關立法草案更加嚴格。
蘇格蘭也正考慮一項類似的法案。
宗教領袖是嚴厲的反對者之一，11月24日有近30位宗教領袖簽署了一封聯名信，表示對這些計畫「深感擔憂」。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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