The assisted suicide bill has been passed in Britain with 330 MPs in the House of Commons voting “for” and 275 “against”.
The law would allow assisted suicide in the country. It is an issue that has divided both public opinion and MPs.
The bill, among other things, provides that adults who have been diagnosed with less than six months to live and are of sound mind will have the right to end their lives with medical assistance.
“It’s scary”
Jenny Carruthers was outside the House of Commons to protest in support of the bill. The woman watched her partner die in horrific pain from cancer that had metastasised to his bones. She has been diagnosed with the same disease and wants to undergo assisted suicide.
“I watched my partner die and it looks like I will have the same future. We need this,” 56-year-old Carruthers told Reuters, referring to the bill, recalling her partner “screaming in bed” in the last days of his life.
“I am now terminally ill. I have bone metastasis and I have a pretty good idea of what might happen. It’s very scary,” said the 56-year-old, from Bath in south-west England.
They were among the hundreds of people who were among the crowd outside the courthouse at the end of the day.
Scarred by the suffering her partner experienced and fearful of the impact on her children of reliving what her partner went through, Carruthers said legalising assisted suicide would allow her to live out her final days in peace and that this option should be offered to those with terminal illnesses and terminal illnesses. She said her children fully support her wishes.
