MP votes for assisted dying bill after family loss

Lee Barron is voting for the assisted dying bill after his mother-in-law experienced a "horrendous" end of life

A Labour MP said he intended to vote in favour of a bill that would legalise assisted dying after the death of his mother-in-law shaped his view.

Lee Barron, the MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, spoke ahead of the debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November.

The bill would make it legal for over-18s who were terminally ill to be given assistance to end their own life.

Barron said: "When terminally ill, my mother-in-law wasn’t able to take in food and water due to the requirements of her condition. After food and water were taken away, she went on to live for over a week, deteriorating massively and experiencing a horrendous end of life."

"No-one should have to experience this," he added.

The debate over the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will take place on 29 November

The last House of Commons vote on changing the law around assisted dying in England and Wales took place in 2015. MPs voted against the bill in a second reading, by 330 votes to 118.

If MPs vote in favour of the bill on Friday, it would then have to pass further stages and scrutiny before becoming law.

Under the proposed legislation to be eligible a person must be aged over-18, registered with a GP for at least 12 months, have the mental capacity to make a choice about the end of their life, be terminally ill and be expected to die within six months.

A patient must sign two separate and witnessed declarations and can change their mind at any time.

The bill stated that two independent doctors must also be satisfied the individual was eligible.

Their application would then go before a High Court judge, who must hear from at least one of the doctors and may question the person making the application.

'Time for change'

Barron added: "I believe that those in pain [and] at the very end of their life should be able to take the advice of medical professional to put an end to that suffering.

"I will not support any bill that does not guarantee the safety of the most vulnerable.

"It is time for change, and that will start by supporting the End of Life Bill."

A number of MPs have said publicly that they would vote against the bill, including within the Labour Party.

Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has said he was "minded" to vote against the bill, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he did not believe the palliative care system was good enough to support assisted dying.

The former Labour prime minister, Gordon Brown, has said he opposes a new law on assisted dying and called for more debate on the issue.