Lawmakers in Britain have taken a historic step toward allowing assisted dying. The change would see England and Wales join other countries that allow terminally ill adults to choose to end their lives.

Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have approved a bill allowing terminally ill adults in England and Wales to end their lives.

The vote marks a major step toward legalizing assisted dying — one of the most significant social policy changes in decades and comparable to Britain’s partial legalization of abortion in 1967.