Cambridge academics have weighed in on both sides of the assisted dying bill that MPs are due to vote on today (29/11).

The bill proposes to give some terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to die at a time of their choosing. At present, the law prevents people from asking for medical help to die.

An open letter urging MPs to vote down the bill was published in The Critic on Wednesday and was signed by 118 academics, including 12 from Cambridge. The letter claims: “A Private Member’s Bill is an inadequate parliamentary process for an issue of such ethical and legal complexity.”

The letter also argues that “basing the argument for change simply on the need for “choice” is too simplistic.”

“It lacks prudence to allow such a radical change to healthcare practice at a time of crisis for the NHS, especially given the increased financial pressures on general practice, hospices and care homes,” the letter continues.

The open letter was signed by some of Cambridge’s most senior academics including Professor Richard Rex, chair of the faculty board of Divinity, Professor John O’Brien, who leads the Old Age Psychiatry Research Group, and Associate Divinity Professor James Orr.

Orr has previously faced criticism from students for making “racist” remarks towards Arabs and Palestinians last year.

Meanwhile, Dr Julian Huppert, the former MP for Cambridge and the Founding Director of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, has written in Prospect Magazine in support of the bill, saying: “I was in favour of Voluntary Assisted Dying in theory from when I was young.”

His mother chose to apply for Voluntary Assisted dying in Australia after a ten-year battle with cancer, and Huppert wrote: “I cannot imagine depriving others of the opportunity to choose such a good death. They deserve as good an ending as my mother received.”

Huppert has just concluded a series of panels and lectures at the Intellectual Forum titled “Death and Dying” which saw academics speak on the issue of assisted dying as well as other questions surrounding death.

The assisted dying bill, brought to the House by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, is set to be decided by a slim margin. MPs have been given a free vote, meaning that they do not have to follow party instructions.

The bill includes various safeguards to prevent people from being coerced to end their lives, including that a High Court judge would have to rule each time a person makes a request to end their life. Should the bill go through, a patient will also have to wait 14 days before acting.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said he backed a change in the law, whereas Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, and Gordon Brown have all spoken out against the bill.