MPs have voted in favour of new laws to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will allow people aged over 18 with less than six months to live the right to end their own life.
Some 330 MPs, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, voted in favour of the bill with 275 rejecting it - a majority of 55.
The proposed legislation sparked an emotionally-charged debate in Parliament.
Current laws mean people cannot ask for medical help to die. There are a number of requirements for a patient to be eligible for assisted dying under the proposals.
There will still be more months of fine tuning and Parliamentary activity before it becomes law.
Follow below for live updates...
Key Points
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves back assisted dying as 330 MPs voting for the bill to progress
- Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch vote against the assisted dying bill
- Kim Leadbeater: Bill is about 'giving dying people who have got six months or less to live to shorten their death'
- Hackney MP Diane Abbott says NHS will become 'a fully funded 100% suicide service'
- Shoreditch and Vauxhall MPs hold back tears as they talk about family members' illnesses
Live coverage ends
22:59 , Lydia Chantler-HicksOur live coverage has now ended.
Read our full report on today’s vote here.
'Pro-life' activist who broke back in rock-climbing accident says he is 'very disappointed' by decision
17:42 , Lydia Chantler-HicksChristian Hacking, a “pro-life” activist, said he was “very disappointed” by the news and that it was “sadly predictable”.
The 34-year-old from south-east London, who joined a protest outside Parliament today calling on MPs to vote against the Bill, said: “There is now going to be an additional moral weight upon people to end their own lives which, once it percolates down, is going to affect the vulnerable.”
Mr Hacking broke his back in a rock climbing accident in 2014 and described the issue as “really personal” for him.
“A number of people who went through the same rehab I went through, went to Dignitas to kill themselves because they felt they couldn’t cope with disability,” he said.
“I know that that despair is very real and that hopelessness is very real but I believe our humanity is so much greater than our utility,” he added.
“Why are we talking about how people can be assisted in killing themselves when actually we should be talking about how we can supercharge the palliative care system to help people die with dignity?”
Bishop of London says safeguarding 'must now be our priority'
16:55 , Lydia Chantler-HicksChurch of England’s lead bishop for healthcare, Dame Sarah Mullally, said that safeguarding the vulnerable “must now be our priority” in the wake of the vote.
Dame Sarah, who is the Bishop of London and a former nurse, had warned against moves to legalise assisted dying.
Reacting to the vote, she said: “I have been deeply moved watching proceedings unfold in the House of Commons today. My prayers are with all those who have been affected, who have shared and heard their stories, and facilitated this debate.
“The Church of England believes that the compassionate response at the end of life lies in the provision of high quality palliative care services to all who need them.
“Today’s vote still leaves the question of how this could be implemented in an overstretched and under-funded NHS, social care and legal system.
“In the wake of the decision MPs have made, safeguarding the most vulnerable must now be our priority in the Parliamentary process to come.”
Kim Leadbeater 'proud' of 'robust but compassionate' debate]
16:36 , Lydia Chantler-HicksSpeaking to the press, Ms Leadbeater said: “It’s been tough, you know, these families have campaigned on this issue for years.
“I know what it means to people, if we hadn’t achieved what we achieved today I’d have let them down.
“I’m also really proud and really pleased that we had a very respectful debate in Parliament.
“It was robust but it was compassionate. Lots of people with different views, and I think Parliament showed itself in its best light today, and I’m very proud of that.”
Leadbeater hugged by campaigners outside Parliament
16:32 , Lydia Chantler-HicksCrowds of supporters surrounded and hugged MP Kim Leadbeater outside Parliament after her assisted dying private members’ Bill passed.
Photographers and videographers chased after the Labour MP as she walked over to Parliament Square to celebrate with the supporters.
People shouted “thank you Kim” as she was mobbed by members of the public, activists, and the press.
'I'm over the moon' says Walthamstow resident whose father took his own life
15:31 , Jacob PhillipsA son whose father took his own life after suffering from multiple sclerosis said he was “incredibly relieved” the assisted dying Bill had passed.
Speaking from among a crowd of supporters of the Bill gathered outside Parliament, Anil Douglas, 35, from Walthamstow, London, said: “I’m incredibly relieved.
“I’m over the moon. MPs have voted for a safer, kinder, more compassionate future for dying people. I think it’s wonderful.”
Anil’s father Ian Douglas took his own life after suffering from MS for years. He said he felt like his father’s son today.
“I feel very much like his son today,” he said. “He was an active campaigner in various causes throughout his life. Being here today, in his memory, and in his honour, fighting for a change I know he would have benefited from and would have supported, means the world to me.”
He said he felt shock and a “deep-set relief” when he heard the result. “I think I was cautiously optimistic, but when that optimism became a reality – relief,” he said.
'I have got serious reservations' about assisted dying bill says Sadiq Khan
15:26London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he has “serious reservations” about the assisted dying bill.
He told LBC on Friday: “The job of the MPs now during the committee stage, during the report stage is to try and address some of the concerns people like me have.
“One of the things I have been really impressed by parliament this week, in particular, is it shows that MPs can put aside the knock-about stuff, they can put aside party politics and have proper discussions, proper debates, proper arguments in a cool, calm collected fashion.
He raised concerns about social services, national health service, backlogging the judiciary, the possibility of coercive control and the guilt people with terminal illnesses face.
Mr Khan said there was an opportunity for Parliamentarians to try and improve the bill.
Chancellor and Home Secretary back assisted dying while Health Secretary votes against measures
15:10 , Jacob PhillipsThe majority of the Cabinet has voted for assisted dying legislation.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, all voted in favour of the measures.
As did Defence Secretary John Healey, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.
Recently named Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, Science Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, Environment Secretary Steve Reed, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, and Commons Leader Lucy Powell all voted in favour of the measure.
Several Labour heavyweights voted against the assisted dying legislation including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Members of the Cabinet who voted against the assisted dying legislation included Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
There was no vote recorded for Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch voted against assisted dying bill
15:06 , Jacob PhillipsFormer prime minister Rishi Sunak has voted in support of the assisted dying Bill, meanwhile Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has voted against.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride, shadow home secretary Chris Philp, and shadow education secretary Laura Trott voted in support of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its second reading.
Among those voting against the Bill were shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, and shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately.
The Conservative shadow health secretary Edward Argar also voted against the Bill.
Commons data shows the list of shadow ministers who voted for assisted dying: Mel Stride, Chris Philp, Laura Trott, James Cartlidge, and Victoria Atkins.
The list of shadow ministers who voted against assisted dying: Kemi Badenoch, Richard Fuller, Priti Patel, Alex Burghart, Helen Whately, Andrew Griffith, Claire Coutinho, Robert Jenrick, Edward Argar, Stuart Andrew, Gareth Bacon, Alan Mak, Mims Davies, Andrew Bowie, and Jesse Norman.
Assisted dying is "weight off my mind" says terminally ill man
15:04 , Jacob PhillipsJoshua Cook, 33, from Huddersfield, who has Huntington’s disease – an incurable neurodegenerative disease, said it was a “relief”.
“It is a weight off my mind, as a terminally ill person, and you can just look around here, at people who are truly affected by this,” he said. “It’s a relief it’s history, finally we are getting towards having a society that shows love and compassion above the need to just keep people alive.”
He said it was a personal relief for him.
“For me personally it means that for my end of life now I have options,” he said. “When my illness becomes too much for me, my Huntington’s starts to take its toll, I will have the recourse and the ability to make a choice and take control back.”
He added: “It’s 10 years too late for my mother, 10 years too late for people who inspired me. But finally Kim has done something incredible, she has given hope and love back to the people.”
Parliament has taken 'historic first step' says campaign group
15:00 , Jacob PhillipsReacting to the news that the bill had passed one campaign group said Parliament had taken “a historic first step” towards dignity.
Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK, said: “Parliament has taken a historic first step to meet the aspirations of the public, who overwhelmingly support having choice, dignity, and compassion at the end of their lives. We welcome this and look forward to working further on the legislation.
“As the Bill goes through further stages and detail is debated, detailed questions of eligibility, process, and safeguards obviously remain on the table, but this is a historic Bill which would give many suffering people the choice and dignity they desire and deserve.
“The fact of the matter is that assisted dying is already happening in this country. Some are travelling to Switzerland, if they have the money and mobility to do so.
“Others are dying in traumatic circumstances by suicide, assisted or otherwise. Many more are suffering greatly, even while receiving the best possible care.
“This vote shows that MPs see the need to introduce real safeguards to our law where there are currently none.”
Plenty of time to get bill right, says Kim Leadbeater
14:53 , Jacob PhillipsLabour MP Kim Leadbeater, the Bill’s sponsor, said there was plenty of time to get it right as it underwent further scrutiny in Parliament.
She told the BBC: “We have shown Parliament in its best light today. Very respectful, very compassionate debate, irrespective of the different views that people hold.
“We take the Bill to the next stage now, we continue the process and it will be a very thorough process but we also have to champion all the issues that have been talked about today, whether that is palliative care, whether that is the rights of disabled people, the NHS. All those things are important.”
Spen Valley MP Ms Leadbeater said a “thorough, robust” committee would now work to make the Bill “the best it possible can be”.
Amid concerns about rushing the Bill through the Commons, she said it could face another six months of parliamentary scrutiny, adding: “There is plenty of time to get this right.”
Campaigners react outside Westminster as bill progresses
14:51 , Jacob PhillipsCampaigners gasped and hugged each other with delight outside Westminster as the news that the assisted dying bill had progressed.
Many had watched the debate on their phones and tuned in online as the decision was made metres from where they were standing.
'A very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country' say campaigners
14:46 , Jacob PhillipsChristian Concern has said the vote in favour of assisted dying marks a “very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country”.
Andrea Williams, the group’s chief executive, said: “Today is indeed a very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country, but this is not over.
“The proposals in this dangerous Bill have been completely exposed. The proposed safeguards are completely meaningless, and more and more MPs are waking up to that reality.
“This Bill will create more suffering and chaos in the NHS, not less, and if it goes through, the vulnerable will become more vulnerable.
“MPs are voting for the Bill at this stage in the hope that it will be fixed, however, the legislation is framed in a way that means it can’t be changed.
“It must be stopped at third reading, and we will not give up working to protect life and the most vulnerable in this country from these reckless and rushed proposals.”
Dame Esther Rantzen 'absolutely thrilled' by result
14:44Dame Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill and has argued strongly for a change in the law, said she was “absolutely thrilled” with the result of the vote.
She told PA: “I listened to the debate and it was very deeply felt. Members of Parliament, whether they opposed it or proposed it, had obviously given it a great deal of thought, and right up to the end of the debate, I had no idea whether it would be voted through or not.
“So I’m absolutely thrilled with the results.”
Prime Minster backed vote on assisted dying
14:39 , Jacob PhillipsPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer voted in favour of the assisted dying legislation, parliamentary voting data has shown.
MPs were free to vote for what they believed in and did not have to obey party lines.
Recap: Historic vote passes despite some MPs labelling assisted dying as 'state suicide service'
14:36 , Jacob PhillipsThe vote follows an emotional day in the House of Commons as politicians on both sides of the debate made impassioned arguments for and against what has been described as a “major social reform”.
The four-and-a-half hour debate in the Commons heard arguments from MPs about a need to give choice to dying people.
It was opened by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater who insisted her Bill has strict safeguards against coercion and said a new law would give society “a much better approach towards end of life”.
She insisted the approach was not that assisted dying would be a substitute for palliative care, but that when it cannot meet the needs of a dying person “the choice of an assisted death should be one component of a holistic approach to end-of-life care”.
Conservative former minister Andrew Mitchell revealed he had “completely changed my mind” on assisted dying, having found himself with “tears pouring down my face” on hearing the stories of constituents whose loved ones had died “in great pain and great indignity”.
But Conservative MP Danny Kruger, lead MP for opponents of the Bill, said he believed Parliament can do “better” for terminally ill people than a “state suicide service”.
Mr Kruger’s mother, Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith has been vocal in her support for legalisation of assisted dying.
What does the vote passing mean?
14:32Following the historic vote in the House of Commons assisted dying may be legalised in England and Wales for the first time.
Some 330 MPs voted in favour of the bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives.
There were 275 MPs who voted against Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill but overall it passed with a majority of 55.
The bill will now progress to a second reading and can be debated further.
Breaking: The assisted dying bill has passed the first hurdle
14:23The assisted dying bill has passed with 330 MPs voting for the bill to progress, while 275 MPs voted against it.
It has been approved for a second reading with a majority of 55.
MPs have begun to vote on assisted dying Bill
14:12 , Jacob PhillipsMPs have begun voting on whether or not to give the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill a second reading.
MP says he felt he had 'failed' patients as he could not give them 'good death'
14:10 , Jacob PhillipsConservative MP Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) told the Commons he felt like he had “failed” his patients because he could not give them a “good death”.
The former surgeon said: “I failed because I did not give them the good death that they deserve despite the very best efforts of palliative care.”
At another stage in the debate, Conservative MP Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) spoke of his grandmother’s incurable cancer diagnosis, saying: “She, like so many others, had had enough. An understanding and compassionate society should not stand in the way of her right to choose.”
Elsewhere, Labour MP James Frith (Bury North) spoke against the Bill and argued its passing would “forfeit” palliative and hospice care.
'I’ve had two patients go to Dignitas on their own' says doctor MP
14:07 , Jacob PhillipsDr Simon Opher, a GP and the Labour MP for Stroud, suggested assisted dying is a “tool” in palliative care.
He told the Commons: “A lot of patients who are dying of cancer ask you whether you can curtail their life and finish their life a little bit early – that’s a very common thing they ask.
“I’ve had two patients go to Dignitas on their own, without family members, because the family members were fearful that they would be arrested on their return.
“And I’ve also – we’ve been discussing this: giving a double dose or morphine – and I think a lot of doctors, almost all doctors in terminal care have probably done this, doubled the dose of morphine knowing it might, you know, curtail the patient’s life. That’s a big fudge – that puts me in a very vulnerable position.”
Dr Opher added: “I totally support what everyone’s saying about really developing palliative care is really important, but that does not go instead of assisted dying. The things go together: assisted dying is one of our tools in palliative care as I see it.”
Bill predicted to narrowly pass, pollster says
13:54 , Jacob PhillipsA pollster has predicted that the bill may narrowly pass as debate continues in the House of Commons.
Elections Map UK predicted on Friday afternoon that 295 MPs are in favour of the bill while 283 MPs are against it.
The pollster is still unsure how 106 MPs may vote.
MPs Declared Positions on Assisted Dying Vote:
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) November 29, 2024
👍 For: 218 (+23)
👎 Against: 210 (+14)
🤷 Unsure / Won't Say / Abstain: 105 (-10)
❓ Unknown: 106 (-27)
Forecasted Result:
👍 For: 295
👎 Against: 283
Changes w/ 5PM Yesterday. pic.twitter.com/FLRnslk1gl
Green MP: 'More action needed on palliative care'
13:45 , Rachael BurfordGreen Party MP Sian Berry says she supports the bill but argues more action is needed to improve palliative care.
The Brighton Pavilion MP tells the Commons: "While we don't have to choose between this bill and better palliative care, we do have to give dying people the right to choose which ending is right for them, so please, please vote for this Bill today."
MP holds back tears as she tells Commons 'we should be helping people to live comfortably'
13:34 , Rachael BurfordFlorence Eshalomi holds back tears as she speaks about her late mother who suffered from sickle cell anaemia and kidney failure.
The Vauxhall and Camberwell Green MP also brings up the case of Evan Nathan Smith, 21, from Walthamstow, who died after ringing 999 from his hospital bed when he was denied oxygen while experiencing a sickle cell crisis.
Stating she will be voting against the bill, Ms Eshalomi tells the Commons: “We should be helping people to live comfortable, pain free lives on their own terms before we think about making it easier for them to die.”
'Doctor use of pain medication needs scrutiny following Harold Shipman case'
13:05 , Rachael BurfordSir Julian Lewis says it needs to be investigated whether doctors are reluctant to subscribe “merciful” pain relief since the crimes of serial killer Dr Harold Shipman came to light.
He tells the Commons his constituent Dame Esther Rantzen, a prominent campaigner for assisted dying, wrote to him arguing that “doctors no longer feel able to follow this humane course of action since the atrocious case”.
He added: “I conclude that there are three issues that should be in our minds. Can safeguards be effective? My answer to that, I'm sorry to say, is still no.
“Can pain be alleviated sufficiently by palliative care? I think the balance of the argument is in favour of saying probably yes.
“But it's too uneven across the country, and would certainly need the sort of investment that would be necessary to set up a system that would work for assisted dying.
“But above all, have doctors the freedom to administer pain relief, which may shorten life. We need to know the answer to that last question because if, since Shipman, they have been prevented from taking such merciful measures, then that is a classic case of hard cases making bad laws.”
Tim Farron: 'To legalise assisted dying is to create space for coercion'
12:43 , Rachael BurfordEx Lib Dem leader Tim Farron speaks movingly about watching his mother “suffer at her death at the age I am now”.
He warned NHS trusts in areas with the weakest palliative care offer will have the highest uptake of assisted dying.
"My opposition to this Bill is grounded in compassion,” he tells the Commons.
“To legalise assisted dying is to create the space for coercion that will undoubtedly see people die who would not otherwise have chosen to do so.
"There are no safeguards in this Bill that will prevent this, indeed, to be fair, none would be possible even if we weren't going through this hasty process."
Disabled MP says decision on bill was 'one of the hardest she had to make'
12:21 , Jacob PhillipsDr Marie Tidball has told the House of Commons that she is in favour of moving the assisted dying bill to the next stage.
In a heartfelt speech, the disabled MP described how she wanted to see changes to the bill particularly to properly define “dishonesty, coercion and pressure”.
She described how her decision was “one of the hardest she had to make”.
Dr Tidball continued: “Reflecting on my own life, one moment from my childhood stood out. When I was six years old I had major surgery on my hips. I was in body plaster from my chest to my ankles, in so much pain and requiring so much morphine that my skin began to itch.
“I remember vividly laying in a hospital bed in Sheffield Children’s Hospital and saying to my parents ‘I want to die, please let me die’.
“I needed to escape from that body I was inhabiting.”
She described how control is often taken away from disabled people and that the bill should have the “strongest safeguards”.
She added that many constituents had written to her in favour of the bill.
Walthamstow resident speaks about father's 'lonely, dangerous death'
12:07 , Jacob PhillipsA Walthamstow resident has spoken about his father’s “lonely, dangerous death” as he called for MPs to vote for the assisted dying Bill.
Speaking from a protest in support of the Bill outside Parliament, Anil Douglas, 35, said: “I lost my father, Ian, in February 2019. He suffered from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, and he took his own life.
“It was a very lonely, dangerous death.”
If the assisted dying Bill had been law, Mr Douglas said his father would have been able to “choose the manner and circumstance of his death”.
“He would have been able to live his life knowing he had that choice, and he wouldn’t have been backed into a corner to make lonely and dangerous decisions like he did,” he said.
The death of his father was “horrible” for his family he said.
“The bad death of a loved one scars you for the rest of your life,” he said. “You just have to live with it.
“I continue to pick up the pieces and recover every day, and I expect to do so for the rest of my life.”
Hackney South MP holds back tears as she talks about daughter's illness
12:02 , Jacob PhillipsThe MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch was moved close to tears as she recalled a story about her daughter in care.
Dame Meg Hillier MP came out against the bill as she agreed with Diane Abbott’s concerns that “those who are vulnerable for other reasons who are coerced or persuaded down this route”.
She added that some of the tragedies heard in the House of Commons have been because of a failure in the palliative care system.
Her voice broke as she mentioned how her daughter became ill. The MP said: “I had not intended to speak about this today. But she was admitted to hospital with acute pancreatitis as a teenager.”
She continued: “For five days and many months I did not know if she would live or die. Those first five days she did not sleep and did not eat and she was crying out in pain.
“I saw what good medicine can do. That palliated that pain. That got her to a place where although for two-and-a-half months she was unable to eat she was saved.”
She added: “The time is not right now. We have not had a proper discussion about palliative care... This bill must stop today.”
Assisted dying bill is 'wrong and rushed answer to complex problem'
11:48 , Jacob PhillipsThe assisted dying Bill is the “wrong and rushed answer to a complex problem”, Labour MP Rachael Maskell said.
She told the Commons: “The Bill falls woefully short on safeguarding patients, too flawed to amend. It’s the wrong and rushed answer to a complex problem.”
The MP for York Central said coercion is her “greatest concern”, adding: “While we recognise coercion in relationships or elder abuse in dying – where there is malign intent – this Bill fails to safeguard.”
Ms Maskell also raised concerns about the Bill’s impact on disabled people, she said: “We fight in this House to take stigma, give dignity, equality and worth, it is why disabled people fear this Bill. It devalues them in a society where they fight to live.”
“If you stand for equality, you will recognise the safeguarding failures in this Bill,” she added.
Hammersmith MP indicates his support for the assisted dying bill
11:39 , Jacob PhillipsTerminally ill people stuck in hospital might consider it their “patriotic duty” to take advantage of assisted dying to free up beds in the event of another pandemic, MPs heard.
Jonathan Davies, Labour MP for Mid Derbyshire said in an intervention: “I worry that if we were to see another pandemic on the scale of what we saw in 2020 whether people might think they were doing something patriotic by getting out of the way, by freeing up a bed for a young person.”
Labour’s Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) indicated support for the Bill, telling MPs: “We have a duty to put in place the best law that we can, and that is not the law as it stands.”
Conservative former minister Andrew Mitchell confirmed he would be supporting it.
“I want this choice for my constituents, I want it for those whom I love, and indeed I want it perhaps one day for myself,” Mr Mitchell told the Commons.
Layla Moran tells MPs to vote in favour of bill to continue conversation on assisted dying
11:36 , Jacob PhillipsThe House of Commons remains packed as MPs continue to debate assisted dying.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran told her colleagues she will be voting in favour of the bill as she wants the conversation on the topic to continue.
“To those MPs who are minded to vote for it on principle but are worried about the details about how we might change a word here or the role of clinicians or MPs or whatever it may be.
“May I urge them to reconsider the question they are asking themselves today.”
She added: “The question I think we, and I, will be answering today is ‘do I want to keep talking about the issues with this bill?’”
Actress Liz Carr tells crowds there is 'fine line between terminal illness and disability'
11:27 , Jacob PhillipsActress and disability rights campaigner Liz Carr has said there is a “fine line between terminal illness and disability” at a protest against the assisted dying Bill outside Parliament.
Speaking from Old Palace Yard, Ms Carr, 52, who has starred in TV shows Loki and Silent Witness said: “As disabled people, there’s a really fine line between terminal illness and disability.
“Our lives go in and out of the NHS and the medical system, and I think we are probably slightly less trusting than your average person.
“We know doctors are fallible, we know mistakes are made about prognosis, and we are concerned that the power that the medical profession wields in our lives will become more uncontrolled if this Bill goes through.”
'There should be assistance to kill disabled people before their natural deaths' says campaigner
11:23 , Jacob PhillipsJoAnn Taylor, 58, who has a condition called severe hypermobility syndrome, said she opposes the assisted dying Bill.
Speaking at a Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) protest outside Parliament, she said: “I’m against it because I don’t feel there should be assistance to kill disabled people before their natural deaths.
“Doctors can be wrong, cures can become available.”
Symptoms of severe hypermobility syndrome include frequently dislocating joints, frequent sprains and strains of muscles, poor balance and fatigue.
Ms Taylor, from Salford, added: “From my own experience, and many others too, of very prolonged miseries that the disabled endure in this country and beyond, our lived experiences aren’t understood by many.”
If the Bill is passed, Ms Taylor said she fears people who are vulnerable, disabled and depressed may make rash decisions.
She said: “Things change, your condition improves and you feel differently about life.”
Public opinion was against abolishing death penalty for murder, says Diane Abbott
11:17 , Jacob PhillipsHigh Court judges’ involvement in assisted dying “could just be a rubber stamp”, Mother of the House Diane Abbott has warned.
The long-serving Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said: “I would recall to the House that in 1969, Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty for murder.
“Public opinion was actually against it but MPs believed on a point of principle that the state should not be involved in taking a life.
“It was a good principle in 1969 and it remains a good principle today. I am not against legalising assisted dying in any circumstance but I have many reservations about this Bill and in particular, I do not believe that the safeguards are sufficient.
“They are supposed to be the strongest in the world because of the involvement of a High Court judge, but the divisional court have said the intervention of a court would simply interpose an expensive and time-consuming forensic procedure.”
Ms Abbott later added: “Is a judge supposed to second-guess doctors? Will the judge make a decision on the basis of paperwork? Or will there be a hearing in open court? And where will be the capacity in the criminal justice system to deal with all this?
“So far from being a genuine safeguard, the involvement of a judge could just be a rubber stamp.”
Hackney MP Diane Abbott tells MPs NHS would be 'fully funded' suicide service
11:12 , Jacob PhillipsMother of the House Diane Abbott has told the Commons she will not be voting for the bill.
The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP said: “As I said at the beginning I am not against assisted dying in any circumstances.
“If this bill passes we will have the NHS funded as a fully funded 100 per cent suicide service but palliative care will only be funded at 30 per cent at best.
She mentioned former MP Gordon Brown, who also opposes assisted dying, adding: “We need to do better at assisted living before deciding whether to legislate on ways to die.”
The MP continued: “I represent very many vulnerable people in marginalised communities I can not vote for a bill where I have doubts about whether they will be protected.”
MP filled with 'dread and fear' for non-verbal people like her daughter
11:03 , Jacob PhillipsMPs have just heard from Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy who has opened up about how she is filled with “dread and fear” for non-verbal people like her daughter.
“My daughter Maria lived her life with severe disabilities and health conditions and since her birth, we were told she might only have six months to live. She lived for 27 years.
“Crucially Maria was non-verbal and I am filled with dread and fear for other people like Maria who are non-verbal and don’t have that capacity and what might happen to others like Maria if they aren’t loved and cared for and have somebody speaking out for them.”
Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbott added “I have heard so many stories like that. This arbitrary cut-off of six months. It does not necessarily meet with the reality of sick people.”
'Majority of public very much in favour of bill' says Dignity in Dying director
10:55 , Jacob PhillipsOutside of the House of Commons hundreds of protesters gathered calling on MPs to vote for Kim Leadbeater’s private members’ bill to legalise assisted dying.
At Parliament Square, just around the corner from a demonstration against the Bill, protesters dressed in pink held signs asking MPs to “vote for dignity”.
Speaking from the protest, Ally Thomson, director of communications at campaign group Dignity in Dying, said: “It’s not a law for people who are making a choice between living and dying, that choice has been made already for them.
“They’re having a choice between two kinds of deaths.
“We know that the majority of the British public are very much in favour of Kim’s Bill.
“We would ask (MPs) to look to the views of their constituents, the voices of those most affected and vote in favour today.”
Groans as MP claims specialist doctors abroad 'kill hundreds of patients a year'
10:48 , Jacob PhillipsThere were groans from across the Commons as Danny Kruger claimed specialist assisted death doctors in other countries “personally kill hundreds of patients a year”.
The Conservative MP for East Wiltshire told MPs: “Medics I met in Canada, specialists in assisted death who personally kill hundreds of patients a year in their special clinics…”
Amid protests from MPs, he responded: “Well if members have a difficulty with the language then I wonder what they are doing here? This is what we are talking about.
“I met doctors for whom this is their profession and their job that they are proud to do.”
Mr Kruger had earlier paid tribute to Kim Leadbeater, the Bill’s sponsor, and said she had led the debate on assisted dying with “great dignity”.
Echoing the words which appear on a shield erected in the Commons chamber in memory of Ms Leadbeater’s sister Jo Cox – the Labour MP murdered in 2016 – Mr Kruger added: “I know that we have more in common that might appear today.”
'We will expose many more people to harm if bill passes' says MP
10:46 , Jacob PhillipsThe assisted dying Bill is “too big” and “too flawed” for MPs to make meaningful changes to it, the Commons heard.
Conservative MP Danny Kruger told MPs: “This Bill is simply too big for the time that it has been given. I implore members not to hide behind the fiction that it can be amended substantially in committee and in the remaining stages.”
He later added: “The point about the process though is this Bill is too flawed, there is too much to do with it to address in the committee stage.”
East Wiltshire MP Mr Kruger had earlier said: “My view is that if we get our broken palliative care system right and our wonderful hospices properly funded we can do so much more for all the people that we will hear about today, using modern pain relief and therapies to help everybody die with a minimum of suffering when the time comes.
“But we won’t be able to do that if we introduce this new option. Instead, we will expose many more people to harm.”
Former MP campaigned tirelessly after father took his own life
10:43Earlier in the debate MPs heard about how one of their former colleagues has been calling for assisted dying to become legal after his father took his own life.
Kim Leadbeater told the Commons: “There is our former colleague Paul Blomfield, the previous MP for Sheffield Central, who has campaigned tirelessly on this issue since his dad Harry took his own life alone in his garage in 2014, after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
“And language matters. Harry wasn’t suicidal, he loved life, but he had watched too many of his friends have lingering, degrading deaths and he did not want that for himself.
“But, like the others, he couldn’t tell Paul and his family of his plan as they would have been complicit and could face prosecution.
“And how many precious days and weeks did Harry miss out on as a result of having to take action while he was still able to physically do so?”
Labour MP Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset), intervening, said: “There is a clear agreement that the current situation is neither sustainable or dignified. Almost everyone in this House agrees the status quo is unacceptable in terms of dignity, palliative care and end of life.”
Kim Leadbeater: Bill is about 'choice to shorten death not choosing between life and death'
10:32Kim Leadbeater, the MP who has put forward the assisted dying bill, has finished speaking in the House of Commons.
In a wide-ranging speech, Ms Leadbeater gave harrowing accounts of people who took their own lives. In one case she described how a constituent stopped her in the street and explained that he had been questioned by police for eight hours after his wife took her own life.
She pointed out that 600 terminally ill people take their own lives each year.
In another story, she described how a man who had bile duct cancer which obstructed his bowel suffered an “agonising death”.
She said: “Tom vomited faecal matter for five hours before he ultimately inhaled the faeces and died.
“He was vomiting so violently that he could not be sedated and was conscious throughout. Lucy pleaded with the doctors to help, the doctor treating him said there was nothing he could do. His family say the look of horror on his face as he died will never leave them.
“Lucy now has PTSD – which is quite common for families who lose loved ones in such harrowing circumstances.”
Ms Leadbeater also described how people are left to ‘feel like criminals’ by travelling abroad for assisted dying and in some cases have been left alone, with no one to hold their hand, no proper goodbye or funeral.
She finished by saying that the bill is not about people choosing between life and death, arguing it's about "giving dying people, who have got six months or less to live, autonomy about how they die and the choice to shorten their death".
Watch: Protesters gather in Westminster as assisted dying Bill debate underway
10:19Campaigners supporting and opposing assisted dying have gathered outside Westminster ahead of MP’s debating the issue.
Pictures show a range of placards from “Yes to Choice” and “Give Me Choice Over My Death” to “Choice For A Few Means Coercion For Many” and “Don’t Make Doctors Killers”.
You can watch a live stream of footage outside Westminster below.
Concerns raised that elderly people in care may feel like a burden
10:13 , Jacob PhillipsMPs have begun to indicate how they may vote on the Assisted Dying Bill.
Earlier in the debate, Independent MP Richard Burgon (Leeds East) said: “One thing that really concerns me is societal or systemic coercion. Elderly people in our society pay thousand of pounds per month at the moment to be in care homes.
“What reassurances can she give me that a person, an elderly person in a care home who has been given six months to live, won’t privately feel themselves ‘I am a burden, I have been given six months to live, if I end my life now I can save my family between £25,000 and £55,000’. It really concerns me.”
People left 'feeling like criminals' travelling abroad for assisted dying, says Leadbeater
10:09 , Jacob PhillipsKim Leadbeater has told MPs that people are often left “feeling like criminals” as the fear of prosecution hangs over them when they travel for help with assisted dying.
“You can have an assisted death. Just not in this country. If you have £10-15,000 you can make the trip to Switzerland or elsewhere.
“But because of the current legal position, it is often a deeply distressing and very lonely experience shrouded in secrecy and with people feeling like criminals as the fear of prosecution hangs over them.”
UK bill 'nothing like' laws in Canada and Belgium, Leadbeater says
10:04 , Jacob PhillipsKim Leadbeater told MPs the assisted dying Bill being debated was “nothing like” the laws in Canada and Belgium because while it strived for a similar purpose, it had greater safeguards.
DUP MP Jim Shannon (Shannon) intervened to claim the situation in Belgium had “deteriorated” to include dementia and under 18s.
He asked: “What guarantees have we that this legislation today will not end up as it will in Belgium, in which case ‘anything goes’? Is that what she really wants? I don’t want it, does she?”
Spen Valley MP Ms Leadbeater replied: “Let’s be very clear. A huge amount of research has been done by the Health and Social Care Select Committee and indeed by myself and others.
“The model that is being proposed here is nothing like what happens in Belgium, it is nothing like what happens in Canada. It is strict, stringent criteria, and if the House chooses to pass this Bill, that criteria cannot be changed.”
Conservative minister raises fears about coercion
10:03 , Jacob PhillipsConservative former minister Simon Hoare raised fears medics will be unable to check for coercion in assisted dying requests.
Intervening in Kim Leadbeater’s speech to introduce the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, Mr Hoare said: “She references coercion and I recognise the point that she makes about the two medics, but the medics won’t be able to see or have heard anything and everything at all times. People will not be put beyond challenge because subsequent to the death, if a relative claims coercion of another relative, investigation will remain.”
Ms Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley, replied: “We’re going to check for coercion in a very robust system. We don’t have any of that now, so at the moment the person will definitely be dead.
“We have to look at the status quo by putting layers of safeguarding and checking for coercion. That’s got to be better than the system that we’ve got now.”
'We have a duty to do something about it' says Leadbeater
10:02 , Jacob PhillipsLabour MP Kim Leadbeater (Spen Valley) continued: “I do not have a legal background, but I’ve always been driven by a strong sense of injustice. If I see a problem I will do everything I can to try and solve it – indeed, in this job, we all do that – every week and every day – whether here in Parliament or in our constituencies.
“And when four former directors of public prosecution, including the Prime Minister (Sir Keir Starmer), and two former presidents of the Supreme Court, and many lawyers all agree that the law needs to change surely, colleagues, we have a duty to do something about it?
“Intentionally helping another person to end their life is currently illegal under the Suicide Act 1961 and carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. This includes family and friends helping someone who is terminally ill to die, both in the UK and overseas.
“And existing guidance does not stop people from being investigated by the police, adding fear, guilt and further trauma to grieving families.
“The law is not clear and it does not protect individuals, families or medical professionals, and this drives people to very desperate measures.”
'She went alone. No one to hold her hand, no proper goodbye or funeral'
10:01 , Jacob PhillipsLabour MP Kim Leadbeater told MPs about a former police officer who felt he could not visit the Swiss Dignitas clinic with his mother.
The MP for Spen Valley told the Commons: “Former police officer James waved his mum off as she embarked on her final trip to Dignitas. She had terminal vasculitis.
“James desperately wanted to accompany his mum and hold her hand during her final moments, but he knew because of his job as a police officer it was just not possible – indeed, she insisted he must not go with her. So she went alone. No one to hold her hand, no proper goodbye or funeral.
“These are just a few examples of the heartbreaking reality and human suffering which far too many people are experiencing as a result of the status quo. And the public know this.”
Ms Leadbeater later said: “Let’s be clear, we are not talking about a choice between life or death, we are talking about giving dying people a choice of how to die.”
'Ann had excellent palliative care but it could not ease her suffering'
09:57 , Josh SalisburyContinuing her opening of the debate, Ms Leadbeater has told how members of the public have shared their stories.
She told the Commons: "Warwick was married to his wife Ann for nearly 40 years. She had terminal peritoneal cancer, which meant she couldn't breathe properly.
“She spent four days gasping and choking, remaining awake throughout despite being given the maximum dose of sedatives, and eventually died of suffocation.
"She had begged Warwick to end her life, but as he stood over her with a pillow, he could not do what she asked as he didn't want that to be her final memory of him.
"Ann had excellent palliative care but it simply could not ease her suffering.”
Leadbeater: Bill would give terminally ill 'choice, autonomy and dignity'
09:53 , Josh SalisburyOpening the debate, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said the bill would give people "choice, autonomy and dignity" as she opened the debate in the Commons.
The MP for Spen Valley told MPs: "It is a privilege to open the debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - a piece of legislation which would give dying people, under very stringent criteria, choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives."
She added: "And let me say to colleagues across the House - particularly new colleagues - I know that this is not easy. It certainly hasn't been easy for me. But if any of us wanted an easy life I'm afraid we are in the wrong place.
"It is our job to address complex issues and make difficult decisions. And I know for many people this is a very difficult decision.
"But our job is also to address the issues that matter to people, and after nearly a decade since this subject was debated on the floor of the House, many would say this debate is long overdue."
More than 160 MPs hoping to speak on bill
09:52 , Josh SalisburyCommons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said more than 160 MPs are bidding to speak in the assisted dying debate.
He advised backbenchers to speak for approximately eight minutes and added he could impose a formal time limit if required.
Sir Lindsay told the Commons: "At about 2pm I will call frontbenchers to make their comments and then we will move to end the debate.
"I've got to manage the expectations - not everyone will get in. I will try and get in as many people as possible."
He added: "It is one of the most important debates this House has had so it's about being considerate, respectful of each other and let us listen to each other.
"This is the time for the House to show itself at its best."
Campaigners gather outside Parliament
09:29 , Jacob PhillipsCampaigners supporting assisted dying have gathered outside Westminster ahead of MP’s debating the issue.
Pictures show a range of placards including “Yes to Choice” and “Give Me Choice Over My Death”.
Other campaigners opposing the bill have also been pictured outside Westminster.
Man with terminal brain condition says fix palliative care first
09:07 , Jacob PhillipsA man with a terminal brain condition says the Government needs to fix the UK’s palliative care system first before legislating assisted dying.
Matt Saunders, 49, from Cornwall, was diagnosed with multiple system atrophy (MSA), a rare condition which causes gradual damage to nerve cells in the brain, in 2022.
Mr Saunders, who says his condition gives him a life expectancy of six to 12 years, has criticised the Government’s “rushed” Assisted Dying Bill, emphasising the need for public debate and proper consultation.
“Whilst I’m not against the concept of assisted dying I truly think this Bill is an absolute travesty and should not be brought before Parliament,” Mr Saunders told the PA news agency.
Read more about what Mr Saunders said here.
What is in the assisted dying bill?
08:46 , Rachael BurfordMP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow some people who are expected to die within six months and who have been resident in England and Wales and registered with a GP for at least 12 months to end their own lives.
They must have the mental capacity to make a choice about the end of their life and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish to do so – free from coercion or pressure.
Here we take a look at all the details of the bill and what safeguards would be in place in it passes.
