UK parliament rejects bill to legalise assisted dying

British MPs on Friday rejected a bill to legalise assisted dying in a knife-edge vote, a setback for campaigners in favour of the procedure, according to Vanguard.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would have allowed terminally ill adults in England and Wales to end their lives with approval from two doctors and an expert panel, was struck down 286 to 270 after hours of debate.

The bill had previously passed the House of Commons last year before being blocked by more than 1,200 amendments in the House of Lords. Care Not Killing’s Gordon Macdonald called the outcome a “decisive vote,” while campaign group Dignity in Dying described it as a “devastating setback.” New Prime Minister Andy Burnham abstained from the vote.