Fewer than 1,000 people a year may choose to die if bill is passed, MP says

Fewer than 1,000 patients a year in England and Wales are expected to choose assisted dying should the law pass, the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said, as she outlined her bill setting out the legislation.

- Jessica Elgot

But MPs opposed to the measure said they were deeply concerned by several components, including that the proposed legislation did not bar doctors from suggesting assisted dying as an option to patients.

MPs who spoke on a panel examining the bill expressed significant doubts about whether it would pass the first parliamentary stage in the Commons on 29 November. Leadbeater said she would make the case "literally every day" but that there were strong views on all sides.

"This is potentially one of the biggest things we will do as members of parliament in our careers," she said.

The Conservative MP Kit Malthouse, who backs the bill, said he thought a significant number of MPs who had voted against the measure in 2015 had changed their minds.