The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has taken its first step towards becoming law in England and Wales following a Private Member’s Bill, which was debated in the House of Commons today (Friday November 29).

The Bill passed by 330-275 with almost every MP present for the historic Friday sitting.  The Bill will now be scrutinised by a legislative committee before returning to the House of Commons for further votes next year.

West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin, who has expressed her opposition to the Bill, was responsible for counting MPs opposed to the Bill and as a teller, her name gets read out by the Speaker and she is listed in Hansard at the bottom of the list of names voting No.

Over the recent weeks, hundreds of constituents have written to the MP making arguments on both sides of the debate and Dame Harriett has also been in contact with local hospices to understand their plans to improve palliative care.

Dame Harriett said:

“This was a respectful and historic debate but I was unable to support the idea of putting this into law.

“The House of Commons has spoken, and this legislation will now move forward for greater scrutiny. The Bill as it stands has many areas of concern and I will be following this process closely over the coming months.

“This has been an extremely passionate debate with people expressing differing, opposing views and it is important that this matter is aired and subject to the oversight of democratically elected politicians.

“While this Bill progresses, I am also adamant that we should properly assess how we fund and deliver palliative care.

“As part of this public debate, I hope we can also recognise the need to improve the way people are cared for at the end of their life and to hear some of the terrible stories of suffering that have been told over the last few weeks.”