'This is not about wanting to die, but to be able to live the rest of my life with the peace and comfort of having choice'

THE Daily Express today calls on MPs to hear the final plea of terminally ill mum Sophie Blake, who says: “Please vote to allow us the choice to have a good death.”

- Words by Hanna Geissler Picture by Phil Harris

A crunch Commons vote this afternoon will decide if a landmark bill aiming to legalise assisted dying will continue its historic journey towards becoming law.

Sophie’s call is backed by Dame Esther Rantzen, 84, who is battling stage four lung cancer, and an overwhelming majority of Britons.

Former TV presenter Sophie, 52, lives with incurable breast cancer and is allergic to opioid painkillers.

She said: “This is not about wanting to die, but to be able to live the rest of my life with the peace and comfort of having choice.

“I have come to terms with the fact that my life has been shortened and I do not fear death. But I do fear how I'll die.”

Sophie wants her 18-year-old daughter Maya to be left with memories of “happiness and of wonderful times, not traumatised by seeing me in agony”.

Speaking on behalf of all those facing an uncertain end of life, she added: “We have to deal with so much after being diagnosed with these devastating, life-limiting diseases. The mental and physical impact, the future, dreams and times that have been stolen, the gruelling treatments, alongside the brutal, distressing, side effects and the heartache and sorrow we see it having on our families.

“All we are asking for is to be able to live our lives knowing we can choose at the end.”

For more than three years, the Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade has given a voice to dying people and their loved ones who are desperate for choice at the end of their lives.

A YouGov poll yesterday showed a majority of Britons backed the bill in its current form, with 73% supporting and just 16% opposing.

Childline founder Dame Esther warned that this may be “our last chance for many years — maybe decades — to give terminally ill patients the hope they desperately need, that if life becomes unbearable they will be able to ask for assistance to shorten their death”.