Tears, hopes and fears as euthanasia bill passes

On Friday, after weeks of heated and heated debate, lawmakers began a formal review of the bill that would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their own lives.

It was a day filled with tears, hope, relief and fear. Here’s the story of how it unfolded inside and outside Parliament, and how Labor MP Kim Leadbeater won a historic victory for her proposed laws.

It’s nine o’clock in the morning. The debate among lawmakers has not yet begun, but activists from both sides have gathered outside the parliament building.

Supporters of the Leadbeater bill were on the west side of Parliament Square, next to a statue of activist Millicent Fawcett.

It was a sea of ​​pink hats and pink sweaters provided by Death Dignity.

Amanda is from Brighton and we are not using her surname like many of the other interviewees. She cared for people at the end of their lives, including a friend who had cancer.

She remembers her friend pleading with her to “kill me now, kill me now.” “It’s a terrible thing for a person to hear their loved ones say that.”

Another lady named Sue is here, also wearing a pink hat. “I think this could be a big day,” she said.

Opponents of the bill also gathered around the corner from College Green, less than a minute’s walk away.

They were joined by a 10-foot-tall puppet of a stern judge holding a giant syringe and pointing an accusing finger into the air.

They chanted “Kill the bills, not the patients.”

Hannah was a little further away, watching and smoking a lemon meringue pie-flavored e-cigarette.

She worries the bill will change how people view people with disabilities, but she’s also thinking about her father.

“He was given six months but ended up living four years,” she said. “Getting through those four years meant he was able to see his grandchildren.”

Nearly everyone at both demonstrations had a story. at Westminster on Friday for personal reasons.

Jane cared for her mother in her final years. She said that time was difficult for her but also “incredibly valuable.”

She believes the bill will prompt people like her mother to demand euthanasia.

“I know judges are involved in deciding these things, but how can they know what’s in a person’s soul?” she said.

“Someone can say they want to die, but how can a judge know what’s going on in their head?”

Meanwhile, inside Parliament, Labor MP Kim Leadbeater opened debate on her bill after weeks of discussion.

Leadbeater is the MP for Spen Valley, an area previously represented by her sister Jo Cox, the councilor who was assassinated in 2016.

The atmosphere was generally contemplative, thoughtful and respectful, but tensions began to rise outside Parliament.

Both sides mostly stayed in their respective districts, but some activists began to clash at the gates of parliament.

A woman who supports euthanasia holds up a tragic photo of her father, still alive but dying and in agony.

She pointed to Parliament, then to the photo. “I wish someone could tell me why this is okay,” she said.

A woman nearby held a placard opposing the bill. It reads: “NHS: from cradle to grave, until old, inconvenient or expensive.”

“Your sign is offensive,” the first woman shouted to the second woman. “Are you saying I don’t care about my father?”

A few steps away, another woman was wrapped in a thick scarf and a woolen hat pulled down low, revealing only a small part of her face.

She held up her own placard opposing the bill and pointed to a necklace of light blue rosary beads.

“How many people have you seen die,” a man passing by asked her.

Away from the noise and drama, Dennis is rolling a cigarette and keeping warm in the last rays of winter sunshine.

She is from the north of England. Pointing to the sun she said: “That’s a great idea, we need to find one in Manchester.”

Dennis strongly opposed the bill but remained sympathetic to the legislators. “I don’t want to be them,” she said. “No matter what they do, someone is going to be very unhappy.”

Lal, from London, agrees. “I do think, I do believe that everyone who talks about this wants to be compassionate and wants people to not suffer,” she said.

“That’s the common ground.”

Back in the House of Commons, the debate is well underway.

Conservative MP Kit Malthouse rejected suggestions from others that the bill should be opposed because it would burden the NHS and the courts.

“Are you seriously telling me that my death and my suffering are too much for the NHS to care about?” he said.

“Should I drown in my own feces and vomit because it’s too much trouble for the judge?”

One Labor MP decided to vote in favor of the bill during the debate.

“Kit Malthouse is very powerful,” they said.

“I reserve the right to object at a later stage and I mean that.”

They added that many MPs may change their minds later if “the safeguards are not strong enough”.

The debate ended around 2:15 p.m., and MPs filed out of the chamber to vote.

Leadbitt lingered on a government bench near one of the entrances to the “Support” hall to offer final words of encouragement to wavering lawmakers.

She embraced Solicitor General Sarah Sackman and disability campaigner Marie Tidball, who revealed during the debate that she supported the legislation after long reflection.

Sir Keir Starmer arrived in the chamber flanked by Welsh Secretary Joe Stevens and his parliamentary private secretary Chris Ward, both of whom voted in favor.

He walked to the opposition benches and had a long, seemingly passionate chat with reformist Nigel Farage. They were later joined by Conservative veteran David Davis.

MPs who submitted applications through the “Yes” lobby knew they had won when the vote closed.

Thanks to a relatively new innovation, the screen updates instantly with the number of people who voted this way.

Astonishingly, there was silence in the House of Commons when the tellers came in to announce the results.

Commons leader Lucy Powell must push one of her supporters, Sarah Owen, to get on the right side and show that Leadbeater’s bill has been passed.

Ahead of the debate, Sir Keir did not reveal how he would vote, although it was assumed he would vote in favor given his past record.

One Labor MP opposed to the bill said it would be a factor in the votes of some members of his party.

They said: “You cannot underestimate the power of the lobby that follows the Prime Minister into his department, even if it is a free vote.”

“A lot of people are watching which way the wind is blowing.”

Outside the pro-camp parliament, everyone was glued to their phones awaiting the results.

The time delay means some people get the news before others. The calm ripples turned into a huge roar.

Big smiles and long hugs were exchanged among supporters.

“I was just devastated,” Katie said.

Others are remembering deceased loved ones. “Grandma will support us,” Kate said. “She didn’t want others to suffer the way she did.”

Iona’s mother died when she was 13 years old.

People were happy but also relieved and understood that this was just the first step in a long parliamentary process.

Katie also said efforts need to be made to address concerns about the bill.

The bells of St. Margaret’s Church began to ring as activists celebrated.

Of course, this has nothing to do with voting. A couple had just married and were about to leave the church.

But it felt symbolic to the pro camp, who cheered with every bell.

On the other side of the Parliament Square, Anna stood alone.

Her eyes were filled with tears and it was difficult for her to speak. “I feel like a line has been crossed today,” she said.

Briefly leave the area. She was going to meet her daughter, feeling more optimistic than Anna.

“It’s sad but not as bad as we feared – 270 MPs voted against it,” she said. “There was some pushback as well.”

Matthew is still attending Green College. He uses a tablet to communicate, and he said he’s thinking about the other children with severe disabilities he goes to school with.

“My friends should live like everyone else,” he said. “Life like mine is increasingly at risk of depreciation. [The bill] A very dangerous door opens.

As he spoke, the van had arrived and campaign odds and ends were being packed around him.

The 10-foot-tall puppet judge slumped to the ground, pointing his finger to the sky.