A growing chorus of voices have decried the progress of assisted suicide legislation through the House of Commons on Friday.

The bill which would enable terminally ill adults with six months to live to request medical help to kill themselves, passed its third reading by a vote of 314 to 291 and now passes to the House of Lords.

Speaking on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, Archbishop John Sherrington said that allowing the medical profession “to help patients end their lives will change the culture of healthcare and cause legitimate fears amongst those with disabilities or who are especially vulnerable in other ways”.

Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols described the vote as “a watershed moment in the history of our country” that “fundamentally changes society’s long held values and relationships on matters of life and death”.

Professor David Jones, director of the Anscombe Centre, said the “encouragement of suicide” violated the right to life of people with serious illness and contradicted the principles of care on which the NHS and hospice movement were founded.

Robert Clarke, director of advocacy for ADF International, said the vote was a “grave and chilling development for the United Kingdom”.