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719 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIn relation to the noble Lord’s point about the imposition of subsection (6), the Bill currently says that the panel “must (subject to subsection (6)) hear from, and may question,…30 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillObviously, you cannot ask questions under subsection (6), so it is exactly the same point. The point being made in subsections (5) and (6) is that the panel recognises that there…30 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI would not look a gift horse in the mouth if I were the noble Lord. First, I do not regard accepting amendments in Committee of the House of Lords as indicating that a Bill is…30 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillFirst, the noble Baroness is absolutely right when she says that, at that stage, no step can be taken by the doctor to kill the patient, as it were, because this is about the…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIf they failed medically to do their job, they might be liable to a civil suit, but it is impossible to answer that question without specific facts. This Bill is placing on…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe doctor has to take reasonable care at that point. They cannot do anything to kill the patient, so they have to provide reasonable treatment to save the patient’s life at that…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillOn the first point—the reference to the immunity in respect of civil suit—I will check this but I think the immunity is with respect to criminal proceedings. I was so distracted…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe guidance that was given changed in the light of the Montgomery case. I envisage that the GMC guidance would be of some significance and would change from time to time as…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillMy answer to that—because the answer I gave in my long and tedious speech was obviously inadequate—was that to be properly informed, you would have to say what the effect of the…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI am not sure whether the noble Lord is asking that in the context of giving information or of doing it negligently. The effect of Clause 33(2) is that nothing prevents the…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIf the person said, “I will take more poison”, then the person can do that. It is perfectly permissible.23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIn response to the question from the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, regarding the complications, that has to be agreed in advance. I did not think that that was the question from…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI think that this is absolutely clear in the Bill. Self-administration is what is required. We are discussing how to deal with complications, including whether or not the patient…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillFirst of all, there is absolutely no need to apologise for not being a lawyer; some of my best friends are non-lawyers. Secondly, this very thing was very closely considered,…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe doctor cannot administer a substance. It has to be done by the patient, because the doctor has no right to kill. If the patient is saying, “No intervention”, then there will…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillAgain, I do not think it needs to be on the face of the Bill, because the Bill is clear about the rights of the doctor in relation to that.23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIf the noble Lord is suggesting that I said “possibly”, meaning that you might have to say what the complications were, if there were complications or the threat of complications,…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillMy Lords, I am grateful for how this has been dealt with. We have discussed this a lot, at Second Reading and in Committee. I have made clear that, while suffering may very often…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillMy Lords, I join with the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, and my noble friend Lord Katz in thanking the staff for staying for so long this evening. I also congratulate the Committee on…23 Jan 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIf the noble Lord will let me finish, then he can come at me. The noble Lord, Lord Hamilton, refers to the question of wrong diagnoses. We will come to that in the group that…23 Jan 2026