The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was opposed by 270 votes to 286 in the Commons on Friday afternoon, following a five-hour debate.
MPs had voted in favour of the assisted dying bill last year when it was introduced by Kim Leadbeater, only for the legislation to run out of time in the Lords.
On Friday, Lauren Edwards, a backbench Labour MP, introduced a near-identical bill, in the hope of allowing adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to seek medical assistance to end their lives.
But now it has been rejected by MPs, supporters of assisted dying could find themselves waiting years for another chance to change the law.
Two former Labour health ministers used the Commons debate to urge their colleagues to vote down the proposals.
Ashley Dalton, who is terminally ill, accused supporters of the bill of “scaremongering”, while Dr Zubir Ahmed warned that the NHS was not ready for the introduction of assisted dying.
During the debate, proponents of the bill including Liz Kendall and Hilary Benn, two former Cabinet ministers, argued that it was needed to relieve human suffering for the terminally ill....<<<Read More>>>....
