Assisted dying to be debated by MPs what is it and where is it legal? | UK News [Video]

Ahead of a debate in Westminster Hall today about the ‘right to die’, campaigners both for and against the bill have gathered outside the venue.

Assisted suicide is currently banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

But campaigners are fighting for the ‘right to die’, with Dame Esther Rantzen – who has stage four lung cancer – pleading with MPs to attend the assisted dying debate.

She told Radio4 today: ‘Whatever their view, whether they support a change in the law or not, it is so important that they hear the evidence from around the world because other countries are ahead of us.’

MPs will debate assisted dying after a petition, backed by Dame Esther, reached more than 200,000 signatures.

The term assisted dying has different meanings depending on the stance of an organisation or person.

Assisted dying allows a person with a terminal condition the choice to …