The Assisted Dying Bill: Teesside MPs give their thoughts ahead of Friday’s debate

More Teesside MPs have shared their thoughts about the upcoming vote on the Assisted Dying bill, set to be debated on Friday.

On November 29, MPs will debate the topic of Assisted Dying and vote on whether to continue to legislate for a new law. If the bill passes the second reading, it will go through more votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords as well as scrutiny in committee stage before it could become the new law of the land.

As has been previously reported, there is strong sentiment and arguments both for and against the introduction of assisted dying in this country, with some asserting that a new law would threaten the “sanctity of life” whilst others say that “everyone has the right to live their life in the way they choose, and the same should be in place for death”.

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Matt Vickers, Conservative MP for Stockton West, who remains undecided ahead of the vote on assisted death, said: “This is an emotional and complicated issue, which stimulates a very important debate.

“I want to make sure that our community, faith groups, and residents of the constituency can tell me their views, which is why I have created a survey on this important matter so that I can understand what local people think before the debate on Friday.” The link for Stockton West constituents who wish to fill out the survey can be found here.

A spokesperson for Labour MP for Redcar, Anna Turley, confirmed that she would not be commenting publicly on the assisted dying vote. On Monday, she posted on her Facebook page that she was reading “every email and letter I’ve received on the issue. I’m dedicating considerable time to carefully consider both sides of this sensitive national conversation”.

A spokesperson for Chris McDonald, Labour MP for Stockton North, said that Mr McDonald was receiving evidence and discussing the issue with colleagues, listening to all sides in the process of weighing up the arguments.

Middlesbrough ’s two MPs have previously spoken to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, ahead of the vote on November 29. Luke Myer, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, explained that he intends “to vote in favour of opening up this debate” at the second reading.

He added: “I will be reviewing the details of the proposed Bill carefully at each stage to ensure that these safeguards are in place before making a final decision.”

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough and Thornaby East Labour MP, Andy McDonald described the upcoming vote as a “really heavy responsibility” and added that he is going to listen “very carefully to the debate” and that he would look through the bill “line by line”.

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