MPs make case for and against assisted dying bill

MPs are debating whether to allow terminally ill adults to end their own lives, ahead of a crucial vote in the House of Commons.

The vote will take place at about 2pm and if MPs back the bill, proposed by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater, it will go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

When the Commons first voted on the bill last year, it passed with a majority of 55 – since then at least a dozen MPs have switched to opposing the bill, but Leadbeater has said she is confident it will pass.

Opening the debate in Parliament, Leadbeater told MPs: “Either we vote for the safe effective workable reform contained in this bill or we say the status quo is acceptable.”

She recounted stories from terminally ill people and their families including a man called…