The MP behind a bid to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales has argued it would help stop people experiencing “very distressing” deaths, as he revealed details of his proposals.

Under a bill published on MondayTerminally ill adults who are likely to die within six months can ask for help to end their lives if two doctors and a High Court judge verify that they are eligible and have made their decision voluntarily.

Kim Leadbeater, the Labor MP behind the bill, said her plan focused on “shortening death rather than ending life” and ensuring “the strictest safeguards anywhere in the world”.

However, opponents have raised concerns that people may feel pressured to end their lives.

MPs will take part in a preliminary debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November.

Current laws in Britain prevent people from seeking medical help to die.

The bill would require people who apply for assisted dying to:

• Be over 18 years of age, resident in England and Wales and registered with a GP for at least 12 months
• Have the mental capacity to make a decision about ending your life
• Express a “clear, settled and informed” desire to be free from coercion or coercion at each stage of the process

The law would require two independent doctors to determine whether a person meets the criteria to take their own life.

A judge will also take evidence from at least one doctor, and may also question the terminally ill person before allowing self-administration of medication.

The person will be allowed to change his or her mind at any time, and no doctor will be obligated to participate in the process.

The law would still prevent doctors or others from ending a person’s life. The substance used to end one’s life must be self-administered if all criteria and safety measures are met.

Under the bill, a doctor can only prepare the substance or assist the person in swallowing it.

The proposed law would also make it illegal to pressure or force someone to declare that they want to end their life, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Leadbeater told the BBC, “The status quo is not fit for purpose” and is causing “very distressing, very distressing deaths for people – both for themselves and for their families”.

His bill, he said, could help end this “by closing these loopholes in the current system.”

Leadbeater called his plans “the strongest piece of legislation in the world on this issue”.

“The use of a High Court judge is unique, there is no other jurisdiction that has that additional legislative layer of protection and security,” he said.

The government has taken a neutral stance on the proposed legislation, and Labor MPs will not be instructed on how to vote.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “not going to put any pressure on” his own MPs, and that they “will be able to make up their own minds, as I will”.

“Obviously a lot will depend on the details and we need to strike the right balance, but I have always argued that appropriate safeguards will need to be in place,” he said.

It is the first Commons vote on assisted death since MPs in 2015 rejected allowing terminally ill adults to end their lives under medical supervision.

If the bill passes the first vote later this month, it will receive further scrutiny from lawmakers and peers, who may choose to amend it.

The final version will need the approval of both the House of Commons and the Lords to become law.

A separate bill to legalize assisted dying Also proposed in ScotlandDrafted by a Liberal Democrat member of the Scottish Parliament. He hopes it will be debated this autumn.

Campaigners supporting the bill, including broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, argue that terminally ill people should be given the choice of how they die to avoid unnecessary suffering.

Dame Esther, who last year revealed she joined Dignitas after a terminal cancer diagnosis, described the new bill as “wonderful” and said the reforms would stop more people having to suffer “painful deaths”.

Alice Burns, from Kent, who is terminally ill with breast cancer, told the BBC that she supports the bill because she is “scared of a bad death – a long, drawn out, cruel, horrible death”.

Ms Burns said, “But I’m also worried about my family and friends. I don’t want them to see me go through this.”

However Nick Ward, who lives in Surrey and suffers from motor neurone disease, is against changing the law.

He told the BBC that if it had been an option after diagnosis he would have sought help to die, but now says that life is precious and he is opposed to assisted dying.

“It redefines the norms of our society in a way that, I think, is very dangerous,” he said.

Most lawmakers have not announced their position on the bill, but those who have spoken are divided by ethics and practical concerns.

Conservative MP Kit Malthouse, who is co-sponsoring the bill, told BBC World Tonight that he thinks many of the concerns raised by other MPs have been addressed by the bill’s safeguards, but he called the status quo a “scary show.” ” Said.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said he planned to vote against the bill, fearing it could make people “less free” rather than expand the rights of the terminally ill.

“The real problem is that people who are terminally ill can feel real pressure psychologically at the end of their lives,” Sir Ed said.

“The government should instead focus on improving palliative care to ensure less painful deaths,” Sir Ed said, “I think this will change the debate for some people.”

Dr Gordon MacDonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, which is campaigning against the bill, said: “It is the safest law we currently have.

“This bill is being introduced with indecent haste and ignores the deep problems in the UK’s broken and dysfunctional palliative care system,” he said.

Conservative MP Danny Kruger told the BBC that despite efforts to add safeguards to the bill, he is concerned that in practice judges and doctors will be “rubber-stamping” decisions.

He said he agreed with Leadbeater that “the status quo is not good”, but he felt it was palliative care that should be improved.

He said, “Because of innovations in medicine, pain relief and treatment… it should no longer be necessary for anyone to die in unbearable, physical pain.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has said he will vote against the bill, have also raised similar concernsHaving said that, end of life care is not currently good enough to give people real choice.

In response, Leadbeater said: “This is not about either improving palliative care or giving people the choices at the end of life that I believe they are entitled to.

“We have to do both, and run them in parallel.”