Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond and Mitcham & Morden MP Siobhain McDonagh both voted against the assisted dying bill that was rejected in the House of Commons today.
MPs were debating whether some terminally ill people in England and Wales should be allowed to end their lives with medical supervision.
In a free vote in the Commons, 118 MPs were in favour and 330 were against the proposals introduced by Labour MP Rob Marris in the first vote on the issue in the Commons for almost 20 years.
Mr Hammond was concerned that the bill, which would have allowed patients judged as having no longer than six months to live to be prescribed a lethal dose of drugs, would not have protected vulnerable people.
Ms McDonagh also voted in opposition to the private member’s bill and told the chamber this could be the start of a long process towards euthanasia.
She said: “They are coming here to vote because they want something much more permissive in the future.
“I went into the Lady Members’ room on Monday night to find a Minister and one of my own backbenchers talking about how this is a start.”
Mike Roycroft, CEO of St Raphael’s Hospice in Sutton, was pleased with the outcome.
He said: “Every life should be considered sacred, no life is worth more than other.
“We are pleased that this view has been upheld by parliament.”
Feature image courtesy of Highways England Company, via Flickr, with thanks
