Field, once a long-serving Labour MP, backs law to allow assisted dying after personal experience

Frank Field, the former Labour MP for Birkenhead, has revealed that he is terminally ill, as he voiced support for an assisted dying bill in the House of Lords. Field, 79, who served as an MP for nearly 40 years before losing his seat in the 2019 general election, disclosed his illness during the reading of the bill, which seeks to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales the option to seek legal assistance to end their lives.

In a statement read on his behalf by crossbench peer Molly Meacher, Field shared his personal experience. “I’ve just spent a period in a hospice and I’m not well enough to participate in today’s debate. If I had been, I would have spoken strongly in favour of the second reading [of the bill],” he said.

Field explained that his views on assisted dying changed after witnessing the suffering of an MP friend who was dying of cancer and desired to end his life earlier, before the disease’s full effects took hold. He added, “I changed my mind on assisted dying when an MP friend was dying of cancer and wanted to die early, before the full horror effects set in, but was denied this opportunity.”