Ms Abena Oppong-Asare

Before I begin, I declare an interest as a patron of my local hospice, Community hospice. I want to be clear from the outset that I am not opposed to assisted dying in principle; I understand why many people support a change in the law, and I recognise the compassion that motivates those views. However, today I will set out why I remain unable to support this Bill. This debate evokes deeply held views across the House. I respect my colleagues who have reached a different conclusion, but the question that has troubled me throughout remains the same: can a choice ever be truly free if the support, care and dignity that people deserve are not equally available to all? Through my work with my local hospice, I have seen at first hand what excellent end-of-life care can achieve. I have seen dignity, comfort and compassion, and I have seen how much those final months, weeks and days can mean to individuals and families. That experience leaves me convinced of one thing: dignity at the end of life is possible, and it is our challenge to make it available to everyone. I have listened carefully to constituents on all sides of this debate. One constituent wrote to me about caring for both her husband and her former partner after they were diagnosed with terminal cancer. Both were told that they had no more than six months to live, but both lived for more than a year beyond that prediction. During that time, they were able to reconnect with family, spend precious time with loved ones and continue to live meaningful lives. Her message was simple: prognosis is not certainty, and diagnosis is not the end of the journey. That does not mean that doctors are wrong, but it does mean that when Parliament considers legislation built around predictions of life expectancy, we must take that uncertainty seriously.