Rachel Hopkins

I rise to speak in support of the Bill on Third Reading, because at its very heart are terminally ill adults: people who are dying; people who have less than six months to live; people who have tried to stay alive, to beat a terrible disease with expert medical treatment, but to no avail. Now they face the inevitable: that they will die. In fact, that is the only thing any of us know we will ever do, really. I am sure that most of us think about and desire a peaceful, pain-free death where we slip off in our sleep at a ripe old age, having lived a good life, but the reality is that all of us and all our citizens—those for whom we legislate in this place—could face a painful and undignified death. That is why I believe that in the 21st century, like a growing number of other countries, we should change the law to permit choice at the end of life—or rather, choice towards the end of death—so that dying people can opt to have a death in the manner of their choosing and have an element of control over those last days. YouGov polling published yesterday again showed that the public—the citizens we serve—back it too, with 75% supporting assisted dying in principle and 73% supporting the Bill as it stands. As a co-sponsor of the Bill, and having served on the Bill Committee, I am pleased that it is had more scrutiny, challenge and debate than almost any other piece of legislation—over 100 hours, in fact.