Croydon South MP Richard Ottaway has called for the legalisation of euthanasia for some terminally ill patients. 

The Conservative politician is to use a panel talk at his party's conference in Manchester to call for a law-change which would give those with less than six months to live the option of assisted dying.

He will speak this afternoon at the Demos and Dignity in Dying aimed at highlighting shortcomings of the current law, which he called "immoral and dangerous", and how it could be changed. 

Mr Ottaway said: "It is about giving a choice to patients suffering unbearably and whose needs cannot be met by palliative care.

"A sensible and compassionate law that puts in all the necessary safeguards to ensure that there is no undue influence on the patient is, to me, a basic right for any civilised society."

There is currently an Assisted Dying Bill going through Parliament but it will not get second reading this year and is therefore unlikely to be passed in this Parliamentary session.

The current law makes assisting a suicide a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

 

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