Reaction Supporters hail landmark step but critics decry 'very black Friday'

Supporters of the legalisation of assisted dying welcomed MPs' decision to back Kim Leadbeater's bill yesterday, saying it would bring relief to terminally ill people facing terrible suffering, while opponents described the outcome as "a very black Friday" for vulnerable people.

- Harriet Sherwood

Esther Rantzen, who galvanised the debate on assisted dying last year when she revealed she had terminal lung cancer, said she was "absolutely thrilled" that the bill had passed.

She said: "Those who don't want an assisted death and don't want to take part in providing assisted dying can opt out of it, don't have to do it, don't choose to end their lives that way. So it offers everyone equal choice, whatever their religion."

The vote was unlikely to make any impact on her own life, Rantzen added. "It's going to take probably almost two years for it to change the law, and I'd be astonished if the drug I'm on manages to extend my life that far."

Religious leaders generally expressed disappointment with the vote. The Right Rev Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, said: "The Church of England believes that the compassionate response at the end of life lies in the provision of high-quality palliative care services to all who need them.

"Today's vote still leaves the question of how this could be implemented in an overstretched and underfunded NHS, social care and legal system."

The Roman Catholic church said the bill was "flawed in principle". The Right Rev John Sherrington, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, said he hoped MPs would have "the wisdom to reject this bill at a later stage in its progress".

Andrea Williams, of the campaign group Christian Concern, said: "Today is indeed a very black Friday for the vulnerable in this country, but this is not over. The proposals in this dangerous bill have been completely exposed. The proposed safeguards are completely meaningless, and more and more MPs are waking up to that reality." She said the bill "must be stopped at third reading".