A Paralympic champion has pleaded with MPs to reject proposed legislation on assisted dying, backing a report describing the move as a slippery slope.

11-time gold medalist Baroness Tanni Gray-Thompson warned that changing the law could cause a “seismic shift” in the healthcare system’s emphasis on people.

“I urge MPs to understand the importance of the proposed changes to the law and the staggering change it will have in the way we care for our most vulnerable people,” he said.

The proposed bill will be discussed by MPs on November 29.

“Protecting people is something the current ban on encouraging or assisting suicide does well,” Baroness Grey-Thompson said.

“Parliamentarians should have no doubt that a change to this law would fundamentally change the political and social landscape for disabled people.”

Under the proposed legislation put forward by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, only terminally ill adults with less than six months to live and a firm desire to end their lives would be eligible.

Christian ethicist Dr. John Keown’s report argued that the proposed legislation could “ease slopes” and pointed to potential extensions to children or people with mental and chronic illnesses or disabilities.

Baroness Grey-Thompson’s call was backed by Conservative baron and disability rights campaigner Kevin Shinkwin, who was born with brittle bone disease.

“Precedents in other jurisdictions show that protections are rapidly eroding and people with disabilities are becoming default targets,” he said.

“Let us have no doubt: the stakes could not be higher.”

Ms Leadbeater and supporters of the proposed bill say it includes a “three-stage review” that requires the signatures of two doctors and a Supreme Court judge.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has ordered NHS officials to conduct a cost analysis of any changes and warned that if a new law is implemented it could cost the healthcare system more.

Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) research has found that the majority of people support legislation on assisted dying in England.

However, researchers found that there are some caveats associated with the support, including implementing safeguards to ensure the service is not misused.

The poll, conducted in September, found seven in 10 (70%) people in England support a change to the law on assisted dying, with 14% opposed to the change.