Contributions
1,183 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)I beg to move amendment 353, in clause 1, page 1, line 12, at end insert “, and (e) is not a prisoner”. This amendment makes prisoners ineligible for assisted dying.11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)Me again, I’m afraid. The amendments in my name would exclude from eligibility people who are in prison and people who are classified as homeless. In this debate and in our…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)The hon. Lady might well be right. I totally take that point. I dare say it is people who are homeless. I think the question put was, “Should those who are homeless simply be able…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)I accept those points. Nevertheless, the Bill itself has broad definitions and large exclusions—people who have more than a six-month prognosis, and so on. The Bill, I am afraid,…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)My objection is not on the basis of criminality, innocence or guilt. I would not deny criminals this right because they are criminals. I would deny them what I regard as a…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)In the circumstances my right hon. Friend is describing, the prisoner would be eligible for the compassionate release scheme.11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)That is what I hope would happen if it was necessary for the prisoner to be released in order to avail himself of opportunities on the outside. If he is terminally ill, that is…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)rose —11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)On the point of legality, of course a law could be challenged under the European convention on human rights, but Parliament is sovereign. If Parliament decides to exclude a…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)Prisoners are denied their liberty, not just their vote. They are treated as a single class of people who the state has specific responsibilities for, because it essentially owns…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)What an interesting debate—I am grateful to all hon. Members who participated. I am interested in what the Minister was saying about the ECHR. Notwithstanding my general point…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)I trace our liberties to an evolution of British law, and of English law, that recognises the essential nature of our individuality as being socialised. We belong to one another…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Once again, it is a shame that we are feeling our way in the absence of that assessment. Nevertheless, I think we all have experience and…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)I have just a few points to make. I very much applaud the hon. Member for Broxtowe for her amendment, which would genuinely—demonstrably, I might say—strengthen the Bill. It does…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. I particularly applaud his amendment’s aspiration to ensure that the doctors’ conversations are properly recorded.11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting)The hon. Gentleman is a great stickler for doing things in the right order. I am grateful to him for calling us to order on that point again. I dare say that he is absolutely…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eighth sitting)I note the point about training, and of course we would all welcome the strongest possible training. As the hon. Gentleman implies, nobody has yet used the Mental Capacity Act to…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eighth sitting)It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford, and I pay tribute to his powerful speech. I wish more people on our side of the debate and on the…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eighth sitting)The hon. Gentleman’s intervention helps me to explain my point more clearly, which is that the new clause tabled by the hon. Member for Richmond Park builds on the terms of the…11 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eighth sitting)I think it is totally valid for us to have this argument about terminology periodically. I will repeat the point that we have made before, which is that we are actually amending…11 Feb 2025