The leader of the Liberal Democrats spoke to the Kingston Courier ahead of the vote on 29 November.
Sir Ed Davey said many residents in the Kingston and Surbiton constituency had contacted him to express their concerns about the new assisted dying bill, but there is no consensus on the issue.
Davey said: “I am worried about the psychological burden an option of legal assisted dying would put on many people – from the terminally ill and to some elderly people.”
He added: “I’m strongly minded to vote against the latest proposed law.”
When the assisted dying bill was debated in Parliament back in 2015, Davey voted against the law.
However, he said that he supports an open debate and will listen to all sides of the argument before casting a vote, but is “yet to be convinced.”
When asked about the impact a change in the legislation is likely to have on the patient-doctor relationship, Davey voiced serious concerns.
The MP said: “For the vast majority of cases, I do believe better palliative care provision could reassure those people who currently believe legalising assisted dying is the only way forward.”
Ed Davey said assisted dying and palliative care is very personal to him.
Davey said: “I nursed my mother through terminal illness as a young teenager, as my father had died when I was four.”
He administered a variety of pain-relieving drugs and therapies to his mother and according to Davey, palliative care would have made a huge difference.
But Trevor Moore, the chair of Dignity in Dying campaign, said there is a general misconception that people who choose an assisted death do it only because of the pain.
Moore said: “Assisted dying is about autonomy and personal choice. No two people with the same condition will necessarily regard their suffering the same.”
UK citizens have to travel to countries like Switzerland and Spain where assisted dying has been legalised.
The approximate cost of an assisted death abroad is £10,000-£15,000.
For those who cannot afford it, Moore said: “People resort to bleak measures to end their lives.”
He said: “We shouldn’t be forcing them to do this when many countries around the world have shown us that a compassionate law can provide a safe alternative.”
When the issue of legalising assisted dying was voted on in the House of Commons in 2015, 330 MPs rejected the bill and only 118 voted in support of it.
The full breakdown of the 2024 bill is yet to be published, but the new law would give terminally ill adults with six months or less to live, an option for assisted deaths.
In the UK, assisted dying is currently illegal and punishable by 14 years in prison.
