A Cumbrian MP's decision to vote in favour of a bill allowing adults who are terminally ill to be provided with assistance to end their own lives was 'fundamentally a matter of choice'.
The bill passed on November 29 in the House of Commons with a majority of 55 - MPs voted 330 to 275, to approve Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Josh MacAlister (Whitehaven and Workington) and Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) were the Cumbrian MPs who voted in favour of the motion, while Julie Minns (Carlisle), Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) and Michelle Scrogham (Barrow-in-Furness) all voted against it for individual reasons.
But while Mr Campbell-Savours expressed great reservation in his decision, opting to push it forward in hopes that rigorous checks and changes are made in the committee stage to satisfy safeguarding requirements - Mr MacAlister said he's convinced that the bill as it stands is clear in its protection of vulnerable people from coercion.
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Mr MacAlister thanked those who contacted him in advance of the vote about the issue, and added: "I read hundreds of thoughtful contributions from both sides of the debate.
“I received some very emotional testimonies from those who were forced to watch friends and family members suffer needlessly at the end of their lives, even when they had excellent palliative care.
"It was those people I thought of when I walked through the ‘Aye’ lobby to vote in favour of the bill.
“Fundamentally for me, it is a matter of choice and I believe those who want it should have the choice to die with dignity when they are in their final months and facing unimaginable suffering as the alternative.
“The bill puts in extremely tight safeguards to guard against coercion which reassured me that we can do this in a safe and compassionate way.
“There will now be all the scrutiny that every bill gets after second reading, which will give MPs further chances to discuss and debate it line by line, and it will be many months before it becomes law, but this was an important first step.”
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