UK lawmakers back a bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives

LONDON (AP) — U.K. lawmakers on Friday approved a bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives, taking it one step nearer to becoming law.

The vote backing what is generally termed “ assisted dying ” — sometimes referred to as “assisted suicide” — is potentially the biggest change to social policy in the U.K. since abortion was partially legalized in 1967.

Members of Parliament voted 314-291 to back the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill following an impassioned debate. The majority of 23 was less than the 55 when they last voted on the issue in November, meaning that some lawmakers changed their minds in the intervening months.

Since November, the bill has been scrutinized, leading to some changes in the proposed legislation, which has been shepherded through Parliament by Kim Leadbeater, the Labour lawmaker who proposed the bill.

“I appreciate it's a huge moment for the country,” she told Sky News after the vote. “It was a huge sense of relief because this is the right thing to do.”

The bill now goes to the unelected House of Lords, which can amend or delay policy, though it can’t overrule the lower chamber.

The bill would allow terminally ill adults over age 18 in England and Wales, who are deemed to have less than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death. The bill doesn’t apply to Northern Ireland or Scotland, which is holding its own vote on the issue.

One of the most important changes to the bill from last November was the dropping of the requirement that a judge sign off on any decision. Many in the legal profession had objected.

Now any request would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.

Changes were also made to ensure the establishment of independent advocates to support people with learning disabilities, autism or mental health conditions and the creation of a disability advisory board.

After receiving a go-ahead from doctors and the panel, the terminally ill person would have to be capable of taking the fatal drugs themselves.

Another big change made was that “no person,” including doctors, social care workers and pharmacists, will be obliged to take part.

The bill has divided lawmakers for months. The vote was a free one, meaning lawmakers vote according to their conscience rather than on party lines. Alliances have formed across the political divide.

Proponents of the bill argued that those with a terminal diagnosis must be given a choice at the end of their lives to relieve their suffering. They also said that the current situation discriminates against the poor as wealthy individuals can already travel to Switzerland, which allows foreigners to legally end their lives, while others have to face possible prosecution for helping their loved ones die.

However, opponents warned that the most vulnerable in society, such as disabled and older people, could be at risk of being coerced, directly or indirectly, into ending their lives to save money or relieve the burden on family members.

Both sides agreed on the need to make improvements in palliative care and greater investments in hospices to ease suffering.

Passions ran high outside of Parliament where hundreds of people gathered to make their voices heard.

Supporters were dressed in clothing emblazoned with the phrase “Campaign for Dignity in Dying,” while opponents held up banners urging lawmakers not to make the state-run National Health Service the “National Suicide Service.”

Supporters wept, jumped and hugged each other as the bill was backed.

“This is for all the people who couldn’t be here today," said Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying. “This vote sends a clear message. Parliament stands with the public and change is coming.”

The legislation now goes to the unelected House of Lords. Any amendments would then go back to the House of Commons.

There's also the possibility of legal challenge to the policy. Opposition campaigners such as “Right To Life U.K.” and “Care Not Killing” said after the vote that they weren’t giving up the fight.

Backers of the bill say implementation will take four years, rather than the initially suggested two. That means it could become law in 2029, around the time that the next general election must be held.

There is clearly no consensus in the Cabinet about the measure.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the bill on Friday, while his health secretary, Wes Streeting, voted against.

The government has said it will respect the outcome.

However, it's not clear what the cost implications are, or how it would impact the NHS, hospice care and the legal system.

Other countries that have legalized assisted suicide include Australia, Belgium, Canada and parts of the United States, with regulations on who is eligible varying by jurisdiction.

Assisted suicide is different from euthanasia, allowed in the Netherlands and Canada, which involves health care practitioners administering a lethal injection at the patient's request in specific circumstances.

A van displaying a sign passes Big Ben as demonstrators both for and against assisted dying hold banners outside Parliament in London, Friday, June 20, 2025, as British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A demonstrator against assisted dying holds a banner outside Parliament in London, Friday, June 20, 2025, as British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Demonstrators against assisted dying hold banners outside Parliament in London, Friday, June 20, 2025, as British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Demonstrators for assisted dying hold banners outside the Parliament in London, Friday, June 20, 2025, as British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Demonstrators for assisted dying hold banners outside Parliament in London, Friday, June 20, 2025, as British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Demonstrators against assisted dying hold banners outside Parliament in London, Friday, June 20, 2025, as British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Campaigners supporting and opposing the assisted dying Bill demonstrate at Parliament Square, Westminster, central London, ahead of a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons, Friday, June 20, 2025. ( Lucy North//PA via AP)

FILE -Banners are held by pro-assisted dying campaigners as they gather outside Parliament ahead of Fridays report stage in the Commons on The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which is expected to see MPs vote on further amendments, in Westminster in London, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)