London  -  Assisted dying could become legal in England and Wales after the bill was backed by MPs in a historic vote.

Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill received 330 ayes compared to 275 noes at its second reading in the House of Commons - a majority of 55.

The bill would allow adults with just six months left to live to request medical assistance to end their lives.  The result means the legislation will now progress to the committee stage for scrutiny, with the Lords also to be given opportunities to express their views on the measure before it potentially becomes law. MPs were given a free vote - meaning they could side with their conscience and not along party lines, with the government staying neutral on the matter.

UK lawmakers debated Friday whether to advance divisive and emotive legislation to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales, with a vote expected later in the day.

Parliament last debated, and defeated, a euthanasia bill in 2015, but public support for giving terminally ill people the choice to end their lives has since shifted in favour.

Opening the debate, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, said changing the law would give terminally ill people “choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives”. But dozens of opponents gathered outside parliament holding signs with “Kill the Bill, not the ill” and “care not killing” as they urged MPs to vote against the proposed legislation. Two polls last week indicated that a majority of Britons back changing the law, which would see England and Wales emulate several European and other countries. Supporters say allowing assisted suicide would make some deaths less painful.

However, faith leaders are among the stringent opponents, with nearly 30 signing a joint letter last weekend arguing they are “deeply concerned” by the plans. Critics insist it could lead some people to feel pressured into ending their life, while some say the healthcare system is not ready for such a landmark change. The bill would allow assisted suicide in England and Wales for adults with an incurable illness who have a life expectancy of fewer than six months and are able to take the substance that causes their death themselves. Any patient’s wish to die would have to be signed off by a judge and two doctors. The measures are stricter than assisted dying laws in other European countries and also proposed legislation being considered in France.

The bill is a so-called private members’ bill and is not part of the government’s agenda. The debate was due to end at 2:00 pm, with a vote on progressing the bill to its next parliamentary stage highly likely but not guaranteed.

Meanwhile, supporters and opponents of Britain’s assisted dying bill descended on the UK’s Westminster parliament Friday as lawmakers prepared to vote on the issue.

 Around 100 demonstrators wearing pink T-shirts and hats held placards reading “Give me choice over my death”, “My life my death my choice” and “Dying people need choice”.

A smaller number brandished their own placards with slogans such as “Don’t ask doctors to be killers”, and “Sort out care first”.

“My brother has motor neurone disease. He is going to die an awful death and he wants to have the choice to die at a time of his choosing and when it is not so distressing to all those around him,” London psychiatrist Graeme Lamb, 61, told AFP. “The alternative is people are forced to take their own lives earlier,” he said. Tighe Twomey, 62, a retired teacher from Cork city in Ireland said it was about autonomy for those faced dying in pain.

“I think people should have a choice to decide if their lives are unbearable, to end their lives with dignity on their terms,” he said.

Opponents of the proposed legislation stood silently in a row near the gates to the parliament. Jude, a 37-year-old digital marketing worker said she worried about the sick and elderly succumbing to pressure to end their lives. “My mum is disabled and she already feels she is a burden,” she said. “I think there would be a lot of people who would feel that their family think they are a burden and that their life is in the way of other people,” she added.