MPs to debate assisted dying in bill hailed as 'new hope' by Dame Esther Rantzen

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater will introduce a private members bill to give terminally ill people 'choice at the end of life' on October 16, with a debate expected later this year

Assisted dying could be made legal under a new bill to give people a choice at the end of life.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater will introduce a private members bill to change the law on October 16, with a full debate expected later this year.

The proposed legislation would give adults nearing the end of their lives the power to choose to shorten their deaths if they wish, as well as providing stronger protections both for them and for those they leave behind. Under existing law, relatives who help a person end their life could face up to 14 years in prison.

Ms Leadbeater said: "I know that life is precious. But no two people’s lives are the same. What is in the best interests of one person may not be right for another.

"I believe that we should all have the right to a good life and, where possible, a good death. Which is why this Bill is about individual choice and autonomy, something everyone one of us deserves."

The Spen Valley MP said she would consult on the details to ensure no one is pressured into an assisted death against their will, and make sure calls to improve palliative care are not undermined. Bills of this kind rarely become law without Government support. But Keir Starmer has suggested he is personally supportive of the move.

The PM promised Dame Esther Rantzen in September that he would keep his word to allow MPs a free vote on the issue. Dame Esther is campaigning to legalise assisted dying after revealing last year that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and that she has joined the Swiss Dignitas organisation.

Last month, the PM said: "I gave her (Dame Esther) my word that we would make time for this with a private member’s bill and I repeat that commitment. I made it to her personally and I meant it."

Dame Esther Rantzen said she was "thrilled and grateful" at the news. She said: "I never thought I might live to see the current cruel law change. But even if it is too late for me, I know thousands of terminally ill patients and their families will be given new hope. All we ask is to be given the choice over our own lives."

Assisted dying is treated as a matter of conscience for MPs as it remains divisive, meaning the political parties will not whip them to vote a certain way. MPs last voted on a bill on assisted dying in 2015, tabled by then-Labour MP Rob Marris. Some 330 MPs opposed changing the law, while 118 MPs voted in favour.

A majority of Brits (71%) support changing the law, according to a poll for the Mirror earlier this year. But opponents argue it could make vulnerable people feel like they are a burden to their families and prove difficult for doctors who oppose the idea.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, which opposes a change in the law, said: "I would strongly urge the Government to focus on fixing our broken palliative care system that sees up to one in four Brits who would benefit from this type of care being unable to access it, rather than discussing again this dangerous and ideological policy."