'My assisted dying bill is the strongest in the world' — Kim Leadbeater

After many months of debate and scrutiny, MPs face a momentous decision on my Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill; a proposal that would enable adults in their final months of life, who are fully mentally competent, the choice to determine how and when they die. This is a historic moment. Not just for Parliament but, more importantly, for the many terminally ill people and their loved ones that the Bill could help.

Three-quarters of the public back reform. Thousands of people have contacted their MPs to call for it — many sharing deeply personal experiences and their hope for choice. To know that some of these people will be watching from the gallery strengthens my resolve even further, including Sophie and Nat, who each have terminal cancer, Catie, who was unable to hold her mother’s hand when she died at Dignitas, and Anil, whose father took his own life. For them and for us all, I believe it is time for change.

When the Bill was first debated and voted on in November, a majority of MPs from across the political spectrum recognised that the current ban on assisted dying is causing real harm to dying people and their families.

It is a law that has remained unchanged for more than 60 years, and colleagues agreed that we should now consider bringing it into the 21st century.

Over these last several months, I and many MPs have worked hard to ensure this Bill is compassionate, safe and practical. It has benefitted from more than 100 hours of debate, with still more to come on Friday. And if it passes and goes to the House of Lords there will many more hours to come.

As a result, the Bill is the strongest in the world — introducing transparency, regulation and safety in place of an often cruel, outdated law.

Key changes include introducing multidisciplinary panels to assess each patient’s request alongside two doctors, mandatory training for healthcare professionals on detecting coercion, and protections for anybody who chooses to opt out.

These and other amendments — including some proposed by MPs fundamentally opposed to the Bill — have confirmed that we can provide choice to dying people who want and need it, while ensuring robust protections for everyone.

I hope MPs will bear in mind that rejecting this Bill would mean accepting that it’s OK for some people to continue suffering as they die despite the very best palliative care; for terminally ill people to resort to starving themselves to death, or taking their own life through violent and lonely means; or for those with £15,000 to have a safe, legal assisted death abroad while their loved ones risk a possible police investigation.

But by supporting the Bill once again, MPs can give hope to terminally ill people that in future they might have the choice of a better death.

We can reassure families that others might not have to face the same traumatic and harrowing experiences. We can give healthcare professionals confidence that they will be supported and protected, whether they choose to be involved in this process or not.

We have before us a chance to begin to right the wrongs of a law dating back to 1961, and offer the choice of a safe and compassion assisted death alongside the full range of treatment and palliative care options. It is a reform that is long overdue and one that I hope MPs will continue to back decisively.