British lawmakers have voted to allow assisted dying.

CNN London —

British lawmakers have voted to legalize assisted dying, approving a controversial proposal that would make Britain one of a handful of countries where terminally ill patients can end their lives.

House members voted 330 to 275 to support the bill after years of campaigning from celebrities that led to hours of debate and moving first-hand testimony on Capitol Hill.

The UK is now set to legalize the process and join the club of smaller countries, one of the largest by population to allow it. The bill still needs to pass the Senate and congressional committees, but Friday's vote marks the most significant hurdle.

The scheme allows people who are terminally ill and have less than six months to live to take drugs to end their lives, as long as they are able to make the decision themselves. Two doctors and a High Court judge must agree on the choice.

Canada, New Zealand, Spain and most of Australia allow some form of assisted dying, as do several U.S. states, including Oregon, Washington and California.

Debate over the issue has sharply divided lawmakers, many of whom have struggled to choose sides during an unusually tense week in Westminster. Lawmakers were given a free vote on the issue, meaning they could support either side according to their conscience without political repercussions.

Esther Rantzen, a BBC TV presenter with advanced lung cancer who has become a prominent supporter of assisted dying, wrote in an open letter to lawmakers ahead of the vote: If you are faced with a painful death, you are between pain, Switzerland, or suicide. Rantzen previously said he was considering using the Swiss assisted suicide clinic Dignitas to end his life.

She urged all lawmakers to vote on the issue. She wrote that the issue will not be brought before Congress for discussion for another 10 years. How much more suffering will there be until then?

British lawmakers are rarely asked to decide for themselves on such an intimate issue, and many have wondered how they will vote this week.

Rachael Maskell, a prominent Labor member and prominent opponent of the process, told CNN before the debate that parliament was divided on the issue. Lawmakers appear to be stressed about having to make this decision in a short period of time. Captivates everyone's thoughts.

The emotional debate in the House of Commons on Friday was similar to previous free votes on abortion and same-sex marriage.

Supporters of the bill say assisted dying could bring dignity to terminally ill patients at the end of their lives, avoid months of suffering and physical decline, and ease pressure on the state's palliative or end-of-life services. Opinion polls show that a majority of the public supports assisted dying.

Rantzen wrote in an open letter: The tragic truth is that no matter how good palliative care is, some suffering cannot be prevented, such as fecal vomiting, asphyxiation to death, and deep-seated suffering.

Labor MP Tristan Osborne told CNN he decided to vote in favor of the procedure because he was confident in its safeguards. I put myself in my shoes and thought about what I would want for my loved ones and outlined the options I would want for myself if I were in that situation.

But critics worry the bill's guardrails are not strict enough and that patients could feel pressured to choose assisted dying to avoid burdening their families. Others have concerns that the bill has happened to hundreds of lawmakers who took office in the first few months after the July election without a thorough impact assessment or time to consider the proposals.

And Maskell told CNN that Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is not in a fit enough state to provide assisted dying.

I really believe Labor got elected because the NHS is so messed up that we need to sort it out before we go down this path, she said. To move forward now would be to ignore the obligation to address our woefully underfunded mitigation system.

The proposed legislation is broadly consistent with the Oregon model and does not extend to Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada, which allow assisted dying for suffering patients as well as for terminally ill patients. This is different from euthanasia, which is the process of intentionally ending someone's life to alleviate suffering by another person.

It is currently a crime in England and Wales to assist someone in their death, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Meanwhile, euthanizing a person is considered murder or manslaughter.

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