UK politics live: Esther Rantzen pens heartfelt letter on assisted dying - urging MPs to vote on ‘vital’ issue
Dame Esther, who is terminally ill, has been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow dying adults to take their own lives in limited circumstances, without fear of their families being prosecuted for helping them
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Your support makes all the difference.Dame Esther Rantzen has urged MPs to attend the assisted dying debate, saying it is unlikely the issue will come before Parliament again in the next decade.
The broadcaster, who is terminally ill, has been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow dying adults to take their own lives in limited circumstances, without fear of their families being prosecuted for helping them.
She has written to MPs ahead of the debate on Friday, after which it is expected a vote will take place on whether to send the proposed legislation to a committee for further scrutiny.
She said no matter which way MPs feel on the controversial issue of assisted dying, they should attend the debate and listen to both sides and make a decision because “every vote will be crucial”.
In a letter in conjunction with pro-change campaign group Dignity in Dying, Dame Esther wrote that it was a “vital life-and-death issue” and one “we the public care desperately about”.
Her intervention comes as MPs continue to voice their opinions over the upcoming assisted dying vote in the Commons on Friday.
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Dame Esther Rantzen urges MPs to attend Commons debate on assisted dying
Dame Esther Rantzen has urged “as many MPs as possible” to attend Friday’s debate and listen to the arguments on both sides to make their minds up on assisted dying.
The broadcaster and Childline founder, who is terminally ill, has been a high-profile voice in the conversation for the past year, repeatedly calling for a change in what she has described as the “cruel” current law.
In an extract from a letter, released through pro-change campaign group Dignity in Dying, Dame Esther said: “This is such a vital life and death issue, one that we the public care desperately about, so it is only right that as many MPs as possible listen to the arguments for and against, and make up your own minds, according to your own conscience, your personal thoughts and feelings.”
How your MP is expected to vote on assisted dying
Parliament will vote on an assisted dying bill this Friday for the first time in nearly a decade.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater proposed the Private Members Bill in mid-October, which will legalise assisted death under certain conditions for terminally ill adults in England and Wales.
The Independent analysed public statements from all 650 MPs, in addition to news reports and other available information, to find which MPs will likely vote for or against the assisted dying bill this week. The analysis will be updated as more MPs come forward.
The bill is open to a “free vote”, meaning that the party whips will not dictate whether to support or oppose the bill. Individual MPs are free to vote based on their own values and opinions of their constituents, regardless of whether they are Labour, Tory, or otherwise.
How your MP is expected to vote on assisted dying
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater proposed the Private Members Bill in mid-October
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Comment: Why we can’t (and shouldn’t) separate God from the argument over assisted dying
That we are one people under God has long been the cornerstone of our treatment of others. Take it away and you take away what it means to be human, writes Catherine Pepinster
Why we can’t (and shouldn’t) separate the God argument from assisted dying
That we are one people under God has long been the cornerstone of our treatment of others. Take it away and you take away what it means to be human, writes Catherine Pepinster
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