It was a highly charged topic that divided MPs
MPs have voted to pass the assisted dying bill, which means some terminally ill people in the West Midlands will soon be able to get medical help to end their lives.
The bill now goes to the House of Lords for final scrutiny before becoming law.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those to back the bill. His Conservative foe Kemi Badenoch cast her vote in the “no” lobby.
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MPs in Birmingham and the Black Country were split about which way to vote, reflecting the highly emotional nature of the debates that preceded it.
Those opposing the Bill included former nurse Paulette Hamilton, Birmingham Erdington, and disability activist Laurence Turner, Birmingham Northfield, who had both raised serious concerns about the impact on the most vulnerable. Also in the no lobby were Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham Ladywood) and former social worker Preet Gill.
Supporting the bill were safeguarding minister Jess Phillips (Birmingham Yardley), former Royal Marine and veterans minister Al Carns (Birmingham Selly Oak), Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) and Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Solihull West and Shirley.
Campaigners My Death, My Decision described the result as a “momentous victory for the overwhelming majority who support assisted dying”.
Some MPs appeared visibly emotional as they left the chamber after the bill cleared the Commons.
Others lined up to shake hands with Kim Leadbeater, the bill’s sponsor through the Commons. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips stopped to hug her.
A group of campaigners who backed the bill, sat in one of the Commons upper galleries, were tearful after the vote result was announced. Outside parliament, supporters wept, jumped and hugged each other as the news came through that it had been passed by MPs.
Opponents say the bill remains “deeply flawed and dangerous”. Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, said: “Since November (the first reading) it has been made considerably worse with important safeguards watered down or scrapped.
“The current bill fails to protect vulnerable and disabled people from coercion.”
Find out how every MP voted and those who were absent using the interactive link below.
Those voting in favour locally included:
Alex Ballinger, Lab, Halesowen
Chris Bloore, Lab, Redditch
Al Carns, Lab, Birmingham Selly Oak
Sarah Coombes, Lab, West Bromwich
Cat Eeles, Lab, Stourbridge
Sarah Edwards, Lab, Tamworth
Mark Garnier, Cons, Wyre Forest
Warinder Juss, Lab, Wolverhampton West
Sonia Kumar, Lab, Dudley
Pat McFadden, Lab, Wolverhampton South East
Andrew Mitchell, Cons, Sutton Coldfield
Jess Phillips, Lab, Birmingham Yardley
Dave Robertson, Lab, Lichfield
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Cons, Solihull West and Shirley
Those opposing the bill included:
Tahir Ali, Lab, Birmingham Hall Green
Antonia Bance, Lab, Tipton and Wednesbury
Saqib Bhatti, Cons, Meriden and Solihull East
Sureena Brackenridge, Lab, Wolverhampton North East
Liam Byrne, Lab, Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North
Preet Kaur Gill, Lab, Birmingham Edgbaston
Paulette Hamilton, Lab, Birmingham Erdington
Gurinder Singh Josan, Lab, Smethwick
Ayoub Khan, Ind, Birmingham Perry Barr
Shabana Mahmood, Lab, Birmingham Ladywood
Wendy Moreton, Cons, Aldridge Brownhills
Laurence Turner, Lab, Birmingham Northfield
Valerie Vaz, Labour, Walsall and Bloxwich