Morecambe MP explains why she voted for assisted dying bill

The MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale said she voted in favour of the assisted dying bill because she believes "the current law neither protects the vulnerable nor serves terminally ill people".

Lizzi Collinge was one of 330 MPs to back proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, in a historic decision in Parliament on Friday.

In the first Commons vote on the issue in nearly a decade, MPs supported the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill which would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their own life.

The bill was backed by 330 votes to 275, a majority of 55.

The vote followed an emotional debate in the chamber, where MPs from both sides shared personal stories.

Ms Collinge was one of the MPs to speak about the issue.

The bill will now face many more months of debate and scrutiny by MPs and peers, who could choose to amend it.

The approval of both Houses of Parliament is required before it becomes law.

“Friday was a very significant day in British politics," said Ms Collinge after the vote.

"The care and consideration with which parliament debated the proposed assisted dying law showed how strong our democracy can be. I decided to vote in favour because I believe the current law neither protects the vulnerable nor serves terminally ill people.

"One of my greatest concerns about the current complete ban on assisted dying for terminally ill people is the lack of safeguards. The current situation means that if someone is helped to die by a friend or relative, a decision is made on the circumstances involved after their death. This means that there are few safeguards to prevent coercion.

"I believe this is dangerous, and a tightly drawn framework for assisted deaths can protect against this.  

"It also saddens me that those with the means to pay can go to die abroad where they often die earlier than necessary in order to ensure that they are able to travel independently. I am also deeply concerned by the hundreds of terminally ill people who kill themselves each year, often in terrible ways. 

"Colleagues and campaigners raised very valid concerns about protection of the vulnerable. I am satisfied that the safeguards within this bill are sufficient to protect against abuse.

"Friday was simply the start of the legislative process; the bill will now go forward to a committee which is empowered to take evidence and I know that (Labour MP) Kim Leadbeater (who brought the bill before Parliament) is committed to ensuring the committee is balanced across all views on the subject.”

Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster and Wyre, was not present for the vote on Friday for health reasons. 

Liberal Democrat Tim Farron (below), MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, was one of those to oppose the bill.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Farron said: "My opposition to the Bill is grounded in compassion.

"To legalise assisted dying would be to create the space for coercion that would undoubtedly see people die who would not otherwise have chosen to do so.

"There are no safeguards in the bill that would prevent that.

"Our eyes have been opened to one horrific factor in particular: that of insidious, manipulative coercive control. Thousands of people have been—and are today—victims of those who seek to manipulate their will, take over their lives and coerce them into believing that their perpetrator’s will is actually their will.

"Victims often did not realise that they were being controlled until long afterwards. It can take years for the penny to drop. I do not need to spell it out, then—do I?—that for those coerced into choosing assisted dying, that penny will never drop. They will no longer be with us."

Mr Farron also said he believed "people will choose assisted dying because of their pain when they would not do if that pain was properly managed".

"Assisted dying means a shift in focus away from helping people to live in dignity and comfort, towards simply helping people to die," he said.

"Then, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Let us not kid ourselves: palliative care is a postcode lottery in this country, especially for the poor and the old. If the motivation of those who choose assisted dying is to end their pain, we can be absolutely certain that those NHS trusts with the weakest palliative care offer will be those with the highest incidence of people choosing to die. In other words, it will not really be their choice at all."

The bill says anyone who wants to end their life must:

• be over 18, live in England or Wales and have been registered with a GP for at least 12 months

• have the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure

• be expected to die within six months

• make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die

• satisfy two independent doctors that they are eligible - with at least seven days between each doctor's assessment

A High Court judge must hear from at least one of the doctors and can question the dying person or anyone else considered relevant.

After the judge has made their ruling, a patient would have to wait another 14 days before acting.

A doctor would prepare the substance being used to end the patient's life, but the person would take it themselves.

It would be illegal to pressure or coerce someone into declaring they want to end their life, carrying a possible 14-year prison sentence.

Similar bills have been raised by MPs and Lords several times over the years, but only two have got to this stage of a second reading at the House of Commons and a vote.

In 1997, the bill was defeated by 234 votes to 89, while in 2015 there were 330 votes against and 118 for.