As the debate continues, Conservative MP Nigel Huddleston admits that he has agonised over which way to vote on the issue of assisted dying.

He says that he has significant concerns that assisted dying could be abused and expanded way beyond its original debate.

Huddleston adds that a bill with stronger safeguards in the future may give him more confidence, but he says this bill does not.

He adds that religious beliefs in this debate should be respected and not sneered at.

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We're now hearing from Labour MP Chi Onwura, who calls on colleagues not to back the bill as it's "without rigour or scrutiny necessary to make assisted dying work in practice".

Onwura says "this is not your average bill," as it would "fundamentally" change the relationship between the citizen and the state as it allows the state to "take the life of the citizen - on request, yes - but that is still a huge change".

Speaking next in the Commons is Conservative MP Peter Bedford, who claims that at least one Brit a week goes to Switzerland to seek an assisted death at a cost of around £12,000.

He agrees better palliative care is needed across the UK.

Bedford says that this legislation has received far more scrutiny than much of what MPs vote on and that they have been debating this subject for over 20 years.

He says that this bill is not about shortening life, it's about shortening death.

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Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill tells the Commons she opposed the bill at second reading after voicing concerns about safeguarding.

She says some of the the safeguard measures have been "weakened" during the committee stage, noting some of the terminology in the legislation remains unclear.

Kaur Gill also challenges the decision not to include stricter mental health checks on people seeking assisted dying services.

Conservative MP Jeremy Wright, a qualified barrister, says the "risk of not changing the law is that we leave some of our constituents in pain where it could be avoided".

"I do not want to live in a society where any person, including the terminally ill, is encouraged in the belief that their lives are not valuable and valued to their very last moments," he adds.

Wright says he believes, even if it not its intention, this bill brings "such a society closer - and that is why I cannot support it".

Speaking in the Commons as the debate into the assisted dying bill continues, Labour MP Maureen Burke shares the story of her brother David who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Burke says that as his health declined in the last few months of his life, he told her that if there was a pill that he could take to end his life he would take it.

She says that he would go on to suffer in silent pain for a further three weeks and urges her colleagues to make sure others don't go through what he went though.

She says what her brother needed was a humane, safe and trusted process that would give him agency over his last weeks and months. That's what this bill offers, she says.

Warning: This post contains distressing details

Labour's Jen Craft says she opposes the bill over concerns about the impact it could have on people with disabilities.

Speaking from the experience of her own daughter's diagnosis with Down's Syndrome, she says a midwife immediately told her she could book her an abortion "within 48 hours".

"This is a choice that so many women make, because they are ignorant of the value of disabled lives," Craft tells the Commons.

She says she has had to "fight for so many things" for her daughter, because the "establishment does not see her life as valuable".

Craft says she supports the principle of assisted dying, but cannot support the bill because "we cannot legislate out inherent bias".

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat is up next, he says this bill demonstrates a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the state.

Tugendhat calls for more honesty in the debate and says that they aren't debating assisted dying, it should be called assisted killing or assisted suicide.

He tells the House that they have a responsibility to think not just for those who have options, but for the weak and the vulnerable.

Tugendhat says that closest legal equivalent to this bill is the Canadian bill.

He retells the experience of a Canadian man with a degenerative condition who says he has faced neglect and told to consider medical aid in dying.

As a reminder, voluntary euthanasia or "medical assistance in dying" can be provided by a doctor or nurse practitioner in Canada.

Back in the Commons now, we're hearing from Labour MP Dr Beccy Cooper who says that as a medical doctor specialising in public health she will be supporting the bill in today's vote.

Cooper says "we are often met with the slippery slope argument" that legislating for a specific group would open the door to further legislation.

"That's not what's in front of us today," saying further changes to the law would be subjected to additional parliamentary scrutiny.

"As a public health physician, I am satisfied that I can vote [for the bill]," she says. "Ultimately, a good death is something that we all want for ourselves and for those we love and care for."

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

After taking stock of this morning's early votes here’s a closer look at how the morning’s voting went, and what it means.

The votes strengthened the optimism of those supporting the proposed assisted dying law.

The flurry of initial votes concerned specific proposals to amend Kim Leadbeater’s law.

Each fell by a majority of around 50 votes.

While not a perfect proxy, those votes are a reasonable proxy for the mood of the House of Commons.

It is likely that some MPs who did not vote on those amendments will come to the Commons to take part in the big vote this afternoon.

Still, if you are looking for evidence that there has been a big shift since November, you would not find it in what has happened so far today.

Sam Francis
Political reporter

As we take a brief step away from the ongoing debate in the Commons, here's a quick reminder that this bill is slightly different to the one debated in November due to this morning's early voting.

Let's take stock of the outcome of those votes:

MPs agreed to ban assisted dying for people who have voluntarily stopped eating or drinking. This was aimed at closing the so-called "anorexia loophole" – safeguards to stop people qualifying for assisted dying on the basis of life-threatening malnutrition.

Another change means the government must publish a review of palliative care services within a year of the law’s start.

Most of the changes came from the bill’s proposer, Kim Leadbeater, most aimed at clarifying terms and tidying up the bill following on from previous amendments.

Leadbeater saw off attempts to limit the scope of bill in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and there is now also less chance that a future Welsh government can veto the whole bill coming into force in Wales, amendment 94 limits the scope of control the Senedd can have.

Attempts to block access to assisted dying for people suffering mental health problems and a proposal to require people prove they are of sound mind before choosing assisted were defeated.

The need for a special protection to ensure the bill does not shift the NHS's focus from saving lives was also projected.

This is now the final form of the bill MPs will vote on. If it passes, it gets sent to the House of Lords for more detailed scrutiny.

Yasmin Rufo
Reporting from outside Parliament

While the debate is ongoing inside the House of Commons, outside in Parliament Square protesters are crowding.

Those against the bill are lining the streets chanting “we are not dead yet” while behind them, mainly dressed in pink, are those who hope Parliament will vote in favour of assisted dying.

One campaigner for the bill says it’s about giving people freedom of choice, but a doctor who opposes assisted dying says he “doesn’t want to be made into a killer”.

Stay with us for the latest developments throughout the day, both inside and outside the Commons.

Labour MP Kevin McKenna, a former NHS intensive care nurse, says he has "witnessed the realities of end-of-life care countless times".

"I've seen patients find peace in their final days, but also patients who have been unconscious or unaware that their death was coming - or others endure pain or anxiety that no palliative intervention, none, will alleviate for them," he tells MPs.

McKenna says these experiences have "reinforced my belief that individuals should all have the autonomy" to make decisions about the end of their lives.

McKenna concludes that he believes the bill has improved and is ready to be sent to the House of Lords, adding his intention to vote in favour of it.

Conservative MP Kit Malthouse, who supports the bill, says the House has a responsibility to give voice to dying people.

"This bill is not about choosing death, it's about choosing how to face it when death is already at the door", he continues.

Malthouse says the bill has been built in the right way and that all concerns have been considered carefully.

On arguments of a "slippery slope" he says there is no pathway for expansion by stealth and that the panel is there to make sure oversight is in place.

Labour MP David Smith says several issues highlighted during the second reading of the bill haven't been addressed and time is now running out to debate them.

He says the proposed legislation still fails to provide a definition for coercion - asking who will be able to define it when MPs can't?

Smith also raises concerns about the potential "marketisation" of assisted dying, saying the limited resources currently available within the NHS increase the risk of these services becoming extensively privatised.

Conservative MP Mike Wood tells the House of Commons he disagrees with colleagues who say the bill is stronger now than it was last time MPs voted during the second reading.

As a reminder, MPs voted to back the Leadbeater bill by 330 to 275 in November 2024.

Wood says he still supports the principle of assisted dying, but he is terrified by the idea that "someone I love might choose to accelerate their death".

He goes on to say the bill as currently written lacks "adequate safeguards" and he will be voting against it.

We're now hearing from Andy Slaughter, who says after meeting with many constituents, groups and faith groups, his support for the assisted dying bill remains unchanged from November.

"I have not changed my mind, I am still driven by the plight of those suffering unnecessarily at the end of life," he says.

"I've tried to see both sides on every issue," Slaughter says, but that he cannot agree with those who ask whether the bill has thus far seen due process.

He urges members not to vote against the bill because "we've lacked the time or information to make a decision - we have not".

Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh tells the Commons he is taking a "pragmatic approach" to the bill despite many thinking he will oppose it due to his religious beliefs.

Leigh calls for a full study to work out how we can help people in their final hours.

He says he's spoken to many experts in palliative care who say that they now have resources and skills to make the final hours of a person's life pain free.

Leigh tells the Commons that they're voting on a bill which is riddled with difficulties and inconsistencies, as he calls for a "pause" on the bill.

He says that if this bill passes, we will move in the direction of Canada: "We will have death on demand."

For context: In Canada, voluntary euthanasia or "medical assistance in dying" can be provided by a doctor or nurse practitioner, either in person or through the prescription of drugs for self-administration.

Susan Hulme
Parliamentary correspondent

Usually, only a smattering of MPs turn up in the Commons on a Friday.

This time, the green benches are almost full. And not only full, but MPs are listening intently.

No-one seems to be scrolling on their phones, no-one getting on with their paperwork.

Instead, there have been vigorous nods and cheers for whichever speech individual MPs agree with, as impassioned arguments for and against assisted dying range back and forth through the debate.

Whatever the result of the vote this afternoon, the House of Commons will certainly not have spoken with one voice on this difficult issue.

Image source, UK Parliament

We're now hearing from Labour MP Rachel Hopkins, co-sponsor of the bill, who says people who are dying are "at the heart of this bill".

She says the law needs to be changed to ensure people "have an element of control over their last days".

Hopkins says she welcomes the additional scrutiny the proposal received - noting the bill has been subjected to lengthier debate than any other piece of legislation.

She adds the bill will provide one of the "tightest and safest" assisted dying laws in the world, saying the proposed legislation has "compassion at its core".