Thank you for contacting me about assisted dying.
I fully accept that suicide, assisting or encouraging suicide, assisted dying and euthanasia are all subjects on which it is entirely possible for people to hold widely different but defensible opinions.
This is why the substance of the law in this area is not a matter of party politics but of conscience. As the Government takes a neutral position, a change to the law in this area would have to be made via a Private Members’ Bill. Any vote would be a free one.
I have been attending debates on this subject and been in contact with families who have seen their loved ones lose all capacity and become incredibly frail during their last months. I believe that competent adults who are terminally ill should be provided at their request with specified assistance to end their own life. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the APPG meeting reception on 20th Nov but I have weighed up all the issues surrounding this very sensitive subject, and if this should come back to the House, I would vote for assisted dying.