An MP has written a letter to express her reason for voting in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill.

Helena Dollimore, Labour MP for Hastings and Rye, did not publicly express how she would be voting prior to the final results announcement that the Bill would pass.

In a letter she shared with The Argus, she stated: "I want to thank everyone in Hastings, Rye and the villages who contacted me about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

"I know that assisted dying is not an easy subject to broach, and that there are strongly held views on both sides of the debate.

"Many of you have been in touch with deeply personal responses of your own
experiences of when you have lost loved ones, or the experiences of you or your
family members who live with chronic illnesses or disabilities. I am grateful that you
decided to share your stories with me as I researched this topic.

"My role as an MP requires me to balance my own judgement, my own conscience,
and the views of my constituents in making a decision. Over the past few weeks, I
have been grateful for all the views submitted by my constituents, local healthcare
professionals and those who work at St Michael’s hospice. Following these
conversations, and after scrutinising the safeguarding provisions in the proposed
legislation myself, I decided to vote in favour of the Bill’s second reading today.

"This allows it to progress to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny. I will come onto
the details of this process below, but I want to emphasise that there will be another
opportunity for Parliament to have its say after the Bill has undergone more scrutiny.

"I believe that this debate is fundamentally about choice, and having choice and
control about how your life ends when you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Ultimately, what has moved me most in making up my mind is the principle that this
bill is not about ending life but about shortening death.

"While it is possible to access palliative care that can often enable people to have no
pain, clinical professionals have been clear with me that this is not always possible.
They have told me of tragic cases where it was not possible to stop people’s pain,
and indeed I have witnessed this in my own family. For me, the present situation of
people dying in pain, or refusing food and water in order to die, is intolerable. Many
people have also been in touch to tell me how they have lost family members in such
circumstances and regretted their last memories of that person being so distressing.

"The sad reality of the present situation is that 600 terminally ill people take their own
lives in our country every year. Around 30 people travel to Switzerland and other
countries to end their own lives, a choice only available to those with the funds,
means and connections to get there. Furthermore, these people can only travel when
they are well enough, meaning they often do so prematurely, missing out on precious
weeks and months of whatever time they may have left. Their family members may
not be able to travel with them, for fear of prosecution upon return. I believe that this
Bill will ensure equal dignity in dying for all terminally ill people who choose it.

"There have been significant concerns expressed during this debate about how this Bill could lead to people feeling a burden, and how it could impact the most vulnerable, including people living with disabilities. I want to thank those who have been making this case so powerfully, and recognise the important points they make. I am pleased that the Bill contains strict protections and safeguards designed to protect individuals from coercion or undue pressure and there will be even more time to look at and scrutinise these protections to ensure the Bill works as intended. I will be listening closely to those living with disabilities in Hastings, Rye and the villages during this process.

The Bill explicitly criminalises any individual who attempts to coerce someone into being assisted to die. Any individual who wishes to be assisted to die will need to gain the approval of both medical and legal professionals in order to progress. It is a lengthy and robust process, and will only be available to those with a prognosis of six months or less.

"In my view, the Bill includes strict protections and safeguards – both to ensure that it cannot be used by those who are not eligible, and to protect individuals from coercion or undue pressure. At present, family members can face prosecution for assisting terminally ill people to die. This Bill will protect their families and loved ones and medical professionals from prosecution, and there will be rigorous medical and judicial oversight, strict monitoring, and transparency at every stage.

"The choice of assisted dying will be restricted to terminally ill people only. It will not and cannot include people living with long-term conditions, disabilities, or mental illness. The British parliamentary system does not allow the courts to further expand the legislation’s eligibility criteria without another vote in Parliament, as is the case in some other countries with different constitutional arrangements. The courts have repeatedly made clear that this is an issue for Parliament to adjudicate on.

"Far from creating risks, the Bill will add protections where there currently are none. In a safe and transparent way, it will enable terminally ill patients to discuss their wishes for their end of life with their doctors and allow doctors to explain all other care and treatment options.

"I hope that we can all agree that as a society we must do all in our power to ensure the best quality palliative care and support for our local hospices St Michael’s and Demelza’s. I know from the experience of losing loved ones in recent years that there is much work to do to ensure everyone can have access to high quality end of life care. As our MP I am determined to work towards this alongside our NHS and across the political spectrum because this issue is so important, we must work to remove unequal access to palliative care.

"This Bill will now move to the Committee Stage which means several weeks of scrutiny, debate and possible amendments. The Bill Committee will take oral and written evidence to further inform its final form. The Government will be required to report back on exactly how it could work in practice. Once all of this is completed the Bill will then come back to Parliament next year to be voted on at a third reading.

"Today’s vote is the first stage of parliamentary procedure and allows this discussion to continue into these next stages. I will be watching this stage closely to see what form the Bill takes at its third and final reading, and if I am not satisfied with the Bill and its safeguards at that point then I will be able to vote against it.

"I am confident that today’s vote to pass the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill marks the first step towards allowing terminally ill people to choose to reduce their suffering at the end of their lives. I hope that we can continue to discuss this matter with consideration and respect for those on all sides of the debate."