Rejection of the assisted dying bill ought to focus minds on the health and care system
The arguments both for and against assisted dying in this country have been made with great clarity and passion. This is an issue where perhaps there is no right or wrong answer.
But what there is a need for is the right safety rails to be put in place before a policy proposal that is ultimately a matter of life and death is to be introduced.
That was the conclusion that the majority opposed to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill made in Parliament arrived at.
In total 41 backbenchers made speeches in the debate that lasted more than four-and-a-half hours. Many of these parliamentarians wrestled with their conscience as they deliberated this life and death matter.
The Bill was voted down by a majority of 16, after 286 voted against while 270 voted in favour, reflective of just how difficult a decision it has been for elected representatives.
What this vote must do now is focus the minds of MPs to deal with the challenges the social care system in this country faces.
Access to and quality of end-of-life care is too patchy and the concerns of medical practitioners around the safeguarding of people with mental illnesses are legitimate.
However, that does not take away from the arguments made by those who wanted the choice and dignity that the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would have afforded them and their loved ones.
Instead the inequality, with some being able to afford to go abroad to seek assisted death while others are left to suffer, will persist.