Today I voted in favour for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. I believe that this is a compassionate and courageous step toward giving people facing the end of life the dignity, autonomy, and peace they deserve. This bill is not about encouraging death—it is about empowering choice, reducing suffering, and honouring the deeply personal wishes of those living with terminal illness.

As a teenager, I remember my mother saying she wished to pass away peacefully in her sleep, having witnessed too many painful deaths. I didn’t understand then, but I do now. She died on a COVID ward after multiple strokes and pneumonia, contracting the virus in hospital. Despite her vascular dementia, she appreciated the care she received. My last memory is of her gently touching photos of her great-grandchildren—close to the peaceful end she had hoped for.

My father’s death was far more harrowing. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he declined treatment to avoid suffering, but the disease progressed painfully. He became bedridden, dependent, and in constant discomfort. In his final weeks, he whispered to my mother that he wanted it to end. There was no dignity in his death.

Both my parents would have supported assisted dying. It offers the choice of a peaceful end—something my father was cruelly denied.

In supporting this bill, we honour the wishes of those who seek a peaceful end. We provide them with the control to decide their destiny in their final weeks, avoiding the worst of their illness and allowing them to say goodbye to their loved ones with dignity.

Let us not turn away from the suffering of others. Let us instead offer a loving, humane choice to those in their final days. By passing this bill, we affirm that compassion, respect, and dignity must guide our approach to end-of-life care.

This Bill now goes to the House of Lords for further scrutiny, and I will keep an eye on its progression.