Teary-eyed Judith Collins recounts father's death, says she'll change vote to 'yes' for End of Life Choice Bill

National MP Judith Collins teared up during her speech to Parliament on the End of Life Choice Bill tonight, saying she was on the wrong side in opposing the bill but is on the right side now.

Ms Collins didn't support the bill at its first reading but today says she'll change her vote to "yes" at its second reading.

"I've talked to many people about this issue and it's troubled me for a long time," she told the House tonight, clearly emotional and her voice breaking.

"And this year I have been very troubled by it because I felt that having been opposed to it that I was on the wrong side. And I am on the wrong side of it opposing it. I'm on the right side now, to say that everybody deserves some dignity in their lives," Ms Collins said.

"And I talked to Amy Adams about her mother dying," she said, gesturing to her National Party colleague who was sitting beside her.

"And it is awful to think that people are eaten away by something, losing their face, told that one day they could die when the cancer breaks through to their brain.. What a dreadful thing to do," Ms Collins said. 

"And there are options."

Ms Collins spoke extensively about her father's last weeks of life, saying that 25 years ago she held his hand as he died from terminal bone cancer, with massive amounts of morphine in his system. 

"When his body collapsed he went to Matamata Pohlen Hospital. And he knew to say, 'I have terrible pain and I need morphine.' And he got morphine. And he got morphine and he got morphine. And one day later he was dead. He died without losing his dignity."

She said: "I have always been opposed to euthanasia as of right, on the basis that people like my Dad got to essentially tell everybody when they wanted to go. And I thought that was available to everybody. It's not available to everybody. It's not available for people like my Dad who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and without a family saying, 'you give my dad everything he needs.' That's the shame of this."

Ms Collins concluded her speech, saying: "And somebody shouldn't have to be able to say like my Dad did, 'I have so much pain I need morphine', and  to have his children saying, please give my father more morphine, because that's what he wanted.

"I would do it again. It's the right thing to do and it preserved his dignity. And I'm very shocked and saddened to hear that so many other people don't have that."