The House of Commons in London voted on Friday for an assisted dying bill, legislation that would let terminally ill adults in England and Wales seek medical assistance to end their lives.

The law, whose passage isn't a sure thing, would legalize "assisted dying" in England and Wales for patients with six months or less to live.

The bill could start the U.K. down a slippery slope that has made the procedure routine, rather than a last resort, in Canada.

In a historic vote, lawmakers advanced a bill that would grant the option of assisted dying to those in England and Wales with a terminal diagnosis and a life expectancy of six months or less.