By Sarah Young
LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Scottish lawmakers voted against legalising assisted dying on Tuesday, crushing hopes for a historic law change north of the border, as similar proposals in England and Wales also look set to fail.
Fifty-seven lawmakers in Scotland, whose parliament has devolved powers in certain areas, backed the bill. But 69 voted against and there was one abstention for a law to allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults, who have lived in Scotland for at least 12 months, to end their lives, the Scottish parliament said on X.
Polls consistently show about 80% of British people support the legalisation of assisted dying. To date the United Kingdom is behind some other Western countries such as Australia, Canada and some U.S. states, in permitting it.
Despite the support, changing the law in Britain and its related self-governing Crown Dependencies such as the Isle of Man and Jersey is proving difficult.
In England and Wales, lawmakers in the Westminster parliament voted in favour of assisted dying in June, but that legislation is now unlikely to become law at this attempt, say its backers, as the bill has become stuck in the upper chamber.
The number of amendments which need to be debated in the chamber, the House of Lords, means the bill is set to run out of time in the coming months and could fail, unless supporters are able to convince the government to allow it more time in the next session of parliament.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has remained neutral on the matter.
A proposed law change in favour of assisted dying in the Isle of Man has been waiting a year for Royal Assent, the final step before a bill can become law. Jersey is also waiting after a vote in favour of assisted dying in February.
While Royal Assent is largely a ceremonial process, British ministers can stop a bill from being submitted for approval in limited circumstances.
Enabling the law change in Scotland had been complicated by the devolved nature of the parliament there, as the regulation of medicines and health professionals comes under Westminster’s jurisdiction.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Additional reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Alison Williams and Neil Fullick)
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