Soon, I expect, we shall debate the Assisted Dying Bill. It will be an emotive and impassioned occaision.

The bill started in the House of Lords on July 18. It intends that competent, terminally ill adults, at their request, be assisted to end their own lives.

The Lords were evenly divided, with passionate speeches for and against. The debate eloquently illustrated the gulf between those for whom assisted dying is a fundamental human right for the terminally ill and those fearing that right could become an obligation on disabled and vulnerable people; a last act of love and sacrifice for families they feel burdened by their infirmity.

When deciding how to vote on such issues, I try to avoid decisions based on what I might personally need or desire and my own moral convictions. My vote shouldn’t be determined by my end-of-life choices. My vote has to safeguard others, more vulnerable than I, from the dangers inherent in assisted suicide.

I am deeply apprehensive about this Bill’s potential long-term consequences. If it became law, it could, over time, turn assisted suicide from a last resort into the norm. Those for whom life seems too burdensome, to themselves or others, may be expected and encouraged to end it all.

Once accepted for the terminally ill, it will become impossible to withhold assisted suicide from anyone who cannot kill themselves: the chronically ill; those with psychological pain. To refuse would be discriminatory.

In 2002, Holland introduced assisted dying for the terminally ill. Initially, hardly any patients with psychiatric illnesses or dementia sought suicide. Now, just 12 years later, assisted suicide is sought and granted to physically healthy elderly, lonely or bereaved people. Pressure for doctors to accede to requests comes from patients and relatives.

I don’t want a society where the old and vulnerable, thought a burden or inconvenience, are covertly or overtly harried into suicide.

Life is precious. We should be intent on sustaining a society which values life. Our focus must be investing in better care in general and, specifically, better palliative care, for those nearing their life’s end. Read more from Lyn Brown.