Welsh Parliament backs assisted dying proposals

Assisted dying services on the NHS in Wales have moved a step further after a key vote in the Welsh Parliament.

After an emotional debate, the Senedd has given its consent for Westminster legislation that would allow terminally ill people to obtain a medically assisted death.

The landmark bill, which is currently in the House of Lords, would legalise the practice across England and Wales if passed. First Minister Eluned Morgan and Health Secretary Jeremy Miles voted against the motion on Tuesday night.

The vote in Cardiff Bay was needed because the backbench law gives powers to the Welsh government to set rules for assisted dying services if wishes to.

MSs also backed a Plaid Cymru amendment criticising "the lack of thorough consideration of the constitutional implications of this bill for Wales".

The motion was backed by 28 Senedd members, with 23 against and two abstentions.

Voting tables show that while most Plaid Cymru and Labour MSs backed the vote, some ministers and senior figures in Plaid opposed the decision.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid's spokesperson on the NHS, voted it down, as did deputy Plaid leader Delyth Jewell.

All Conservatives MSs opposed the motion, while Reform's two MSs abstained.

Despite voting against the motion, Jeremy Miles had earlier warned Senedd members that if they were to do so "there would be no powers in the bill for Welsh ministers to implement assisted dying services in Wales or to oversee or regulate such services" if the practice were legalised by the Westminster legislation.