UK ministers free to vote as they wish on assisted dying bill — PM Burnham

Prime Minister Andy Burnham

UK ministers have been told they can follow their conscience when deciding whether terminally ill adults should be allowed to seek assisted death, as the government steps aside from one of the country’s most emotionally charged ethical debates.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said ministers would be free to “vote, or abstain, however they wish” on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would enable assisted dying in England and Wales.

This is as the government says it has also suspended collective responsibility for ministers over a proposed assisted-dying law, allowing members of the Cabinet to vote or abstain according to their personal views on the issue.

In a personal minute circulated to all government ministers, on Friday, Burnham said the decision followed the reintroduction of the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which seeks to enable assisted dying in England and Wales.”