On Friday, 11 September 2015, by 330 votes to 118, British MPs rejecteda draft law authorising patients with a life expectancy of no more than six months to take their own life.
This draft legislation authorising assisted suicide triggered opposition from various sources, starting with Prime Minister, David Cameron. Leaders of the main British religious communities also made their feelings known by publishing earlier in the month a letter urging MPs to oppose the bill(cf. Gènéthique du 07 septembre 2015).
For James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle and Head of the Church of England, this vote “sends a strong signal that the right approach towards supporting the terminally ill is to offer compassion and support through better palliative care”.
Le Monde (11/09/2015)