Tom Gordon

I thank my hon. Friend for that powerful and compelling intervention. We risk creating a two-tier system. We say that we want to fix the status quo because we know that it is not working, but if the Bill forces people such as my constituent’s brother to consider dying earlier—or worse, to have to travel abroad for an assisted death in another far-off, distant country under different laws—then have we really changed anything? We may be telling people with cancer that they can access a dignified death under the Bill, but also telling those with neurodegenerative conditions such as MND that they must either endure prolonged suffering or act prematurely, just to stay ahead of a ticking clock. That is not justice, in my view, and it is certainly not compassion. International experience backs up the amendment. In Victoria, where a 12-month limit applies to neurodegenerative conditions, only 7% of applicants lose capacity before they can proceed. In New Zealand, where the six-month threshold remains, many people are excluded because they lose that ability too soon. We know that MND takes more than 2,000 lives a year in the UK alone—six people every single day. I ask colleagues not to turn away from those people; not to dismiss their fears, their hopes or their pleas for fairness.