Contributions
411 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)Forgive me, Chair.12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)rose—11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)Let me deal with the first point first. A High Court judge could have exercised this function themselves. As I set out in public very soon after Second Reading, I was struck by…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)I will come on to that issue. First, there are avenues for the panel to have information put before it that will be pertinent to the decision at hand and that may be pivotal to…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)I agree, and I hope to deal with some of the points that my hon. Friend made in her important speech. To mandate that a barrister instructed by the Official Solicitor, or indeed…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)The answer to my hon. Friend’s question is yes: judicial review is clearly an exercisable option in this case. I said “expeditiously” because lots of cases are heard…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)Yes. The other side of the coin is that we must ensure that the process is workable. In Spain, 20% of people die before the panel hears their case. We must be very careful not to…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)That is an important point, because the change, as drafted in the various amendments, provides for real flexibility. That may cause others some concern, but to my mind it is a…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)I rise to speak in support of new clauses 14, 15, 17 and 21 and the accompanying amendments. I hope also to deal with some amendments tabled to new clause 21. On Second Reading, I…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)My hon. Friend is making a fine speech. She said that High Court judges make mistakes, which is undoubtedly true. She also said that the panel may be guilty of unconscious bias.…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)In my mind, any decision to give a certificate of eligibility could be subject to judicial review. Third parties can put evidence before the panel to be considered, but it is not…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)I will speak briefly, because many of these issues and themes will be debated in clause stand part and amendments 371 and the others from my hon. Friend the Member for Spen…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twentieth sitting)It came up in the debates last week that we heard some evidence from medical practitioners on how decisions and assessments were better made when done collaboratively. That means…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twentieth sitting)Will my hon. Friend give way?11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twentieth sitting)Does my hon. Friend agree that she is making a powerful case against amendment 468? A multitude of conversations and different circumstances will need to be taken into account; it…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)As we heard in evidence from the chief medical officer, doctors deal with capacity issues on a day-to-day basis; I am not sure they necessarily need assistance from family members…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)The amendment that the hon. Member is supporting speaks of a doctor having to consider what is “in the person’s best interests”, which is wholly subjective. Does he not agree that…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)I am going to make some progress, because I am not sure that point is crucial to the debate about this amendment; I am sure my hon. Friend will grab me afterwards. I did not mean…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)My hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central has made many of the points that I planned to, so I will be brief. The primacy of patient autonomy when it comes to familial…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)I agree. I think in some of these debates—I am probably guilty of this as well—we forget the context in which we are operating: someone is dying, imminently. Therefore, how we…11 Mar 2025