As MPs prepare for a final vote on the assisted dying bill this Friday, we get two experts to outline the cases for and against in this week’s Debate

YES: The vast majority of the British public want politicians to change the law

Our current law forces many dying people to suffer. Yet the option of a calm and dignified death could be available to them. Over 400m people in over 30 jurisdictions worldwide already have that choice. The vast majority of the British public want politicians to change the law. Their opportunity to do so has now come.

This Friday, MPs face a defining moment. I hope they will remember the voices of those nearing the end of life, people who ask for nothing more than the ability to die on their own terms. Because without law change, they face a bleak set of options: die in suffering, take matters into their own hands or, if they’re fortunate enough to be physically able and financially secure, travel to Switzerland to die far from home.

Those options are distressing not just for the individual concerned but also for those they leave behind, who may risk police investigation. Why can’t dying people of sound mind choose to end their lives in this country where and when they wish, surrounded by family and friends?........

© City A.M.