Contributions
184 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I was not planning to speak on this group either, but the debate speaks to a number of the things that we have…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I was just finishing, but the hon. Gentleman has timed it perfectly, so I will.18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I appreciate the point that the hon. Gentleman is trying to make. We have discussed this point at length, across a range of subject areas, but we cannot legislate for every single…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I rise to speak to amendments 532 and 533, standing in my name, and in support of amendments 429 and 430, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford. I…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)In the case of this Secretary of State, he is more than happy, as we have seen in the last week or so, to take decision making back in-house and make them himself as well,…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I thank my hon. Friend for the question; I agree that 10% is a statistically reasonable figure and should be noted, which is part of the reason for my amendment. However, this is…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)Absolutely, I know. I am sure the Committee supports him as well. I would also point the hon. Gentleman to proposed new subsection (13), which my amendment 532 would introduce,…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I have used the statistic of 10%; we might find additional statistics from different jurisdictions that put that figure slightly higher or slightly lower. The point I am trying to…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I fully understand and am very sympathetic to my hon. Friend’s point about the family having privacy and space in the last moments. However—this is a genuine question—what happens…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I appreciate what my hon. Friend is saying about the Secretary of State not stipulating every dot of every i and cross of every t in the regulations, but we are talking about…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)No, is the short answer to that question. Because a doctor has to be present, are we saying that doctors have to go to someone’s home to administer this? Would the Secretary State…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s question. In short, the answer is because we are not medical professionals. [ Interruption. ] Well, some members of the Committee are medical…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I appreciate my hon. Friend giving way again. For people in the Committee and our colleagues across the House, there has to be clarity. Perhaps it is a question for the Bill…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I appreciate that point. Throughout this process we have spoken about the absolute need to ensure that very good palliative care options are being presented to everybody along…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I appreciate what my hon. Friend is getting at in terms of what might happen down the line, but the amendment would not restrict any doctor’s flexibility at all or bind them in…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)Only technically.18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)This issue came up in the oral evidence sessions. Assisted dying has not been introduced in this country, but very few people would say that palliative care has improved in the 10…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I fully accept my hon. Friend’s points, and I agree. To reiterate, complications are not a regular occurrence by any means. They are relatively uncommon. In saying that, there are…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I think the point that the hon. Lady is trying to make with her statistics is that palliative care has improved in the countries that have not had assisted dying, but I do not…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-third sitting)I do not want to make implications about what the hon. Gentleman might be saying, but am I correct that, with the adversarial position that he is supporting, a person coming to…12 Mar 2025