Proposals to give terminally ill patients in England and Wales the right to choose to end their lives are due to be tabled in Parliament this month.
Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the bill, said “now is the time” for a debate on the issue.
It will be the first time MPs have voted on the topic since 2015, when they rejected a bill to introduce euthanasia.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Already promised before Giving his own MPs a free vote on the issue means they don’t have to toe party lines.
Leadbeater said her proposal would give eligible adults near the end of their lives the option to shorten their deaths if they choose.
Details have not yet been finalized, but the bill could be something like a proposal in the house of lordswhich would allow terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to receive medical help to end their lives.
The bill is expected to be formally introduced on October 16, debated later this year, and must be approved by MPs and peers before becoming law.
The topic has come into focus in recent months after broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen revealed she had lung cancer and joined Swiss euthanasia clinic Dignitas.
Assisted suicide – deliberately helping another person end their life – is currently banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
Assisted dying is often used to describe a situation in which a terminally ill person seeks medical help to obtain lethal medications that they themselves take.
As a backbencher, Leadbeater is not usually allotted time in Parliament for a full debate and vote on a bill she introduces.
However, earlier this year She came first in the private members’ vote, meaning she will be given some limited time to work on backbench bills.
The Spang Valley MP told the BBC that receiving the top vote had prompted her to look into the topic of euthanasia in “more detail” and that she believed MPs had a “genuine interest” in debating it.
“The current situation is not particularly safe and I think people don’t really have the options that they deserve and should have,” she said.
“Currently…you have three choices.
“You may suffer and experience a very painful, very difficult death that is very difficult for you and your family.
“It’s possible to go to Switzerland, to Dignitas – you can only do that if you have a lot of money and you are healthy enough to travel.
“The alternative is you can take your own life… The trauma that this causes the family is heartbreaking.”
Leadbeater said she understood other lawmakers would be wary of discussing “emotional” topics.
“They are nervous in some ways, and so am I… but I think the consensus is that now is the time for debate and discussion,” she said.
“I really hope that, for my part, I can facilitate that in a respectful and compassionate way.”
Dame Esther, who has been campaigning for a change to the law, said she was “thrilled”, adding: “I never thought I would live to see the current cruel laws changed.
“But even if it’s too late for me, I know thousands of terminally ill patients and their families will have new hope.”
However, Dr Gordon McDonald, chief executive of Care No Kill, which opposes changes to the law, said news of the impending bill was “obviously disappointing”.
He said: “I strongly urge the government to focus on repairing our broken palliative care system, which leaves up to a quarter of Britons without access to this type of care, rather than revisiting this dangerous ideological policy” .
Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who has long opposed changing the law, said, “We have a lot of people dying very, very tragically in this country.”
“We have to do better to help them, but the solution is not to artificially hasten their death but to ensure they die well,” he said.
“With the best care, no one needs to die from excruciating physical pain – and that’s what we should be focusing on.”
Scotland, jersey and Isle of Man Changes to the law are also being considered.
It is unclear which way the House of Commons will vote when the bill is debated.
The makeup of the House of Commons has changed dramatically since MPs last voted on euthanasia in 2015.
The bill, which would have allowed some terminally ill adults to end their lives under medical supervision, was defeated, with 118 MPs voting in favor and 300 voting against.
In that vote, Conservative MPs overwhelmingly rejected the bill – 270 opposed it and just 27 supported it.
By comparison, Labor MPs were more evenly split – 92 opposed to 73 in favor. One of the Labor MPs who voted in favor was Keir Starmer, now Prime Minister but then a backbencher.
Current Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Angela Rayner and David Lamy voted against.
The government has confirmed it will remain neutral on the bill. In a letter to ministersCivil service chief Simon Case said they would be able to vote “as they wish”.
He said: “While ministers do not have to recuse themselves when asked directly about previously expressed views, they should exercise their discretion and should not engage in public debate.”
