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719 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillOf course I will consider it. Amendment 88, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, is an amendment to Clause 2(2), which will go, in the light of Amendment 87.…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillMay I go on with this amendment? I want to finish before the noble Baroness comes in. The bulk of the amendment, or at least a lot of it, is similar to what is already in the Act.…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillMy Lords, this is an important amendment designed to ensure that persons with anorexia cannot, by not eating, put themselves into a position in which they qualify for an assisted…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe framework that is to be applied by the co-ordinating doctor and the independent doctor is the framework for assessing capacity under the Mental Capacity Act. That is what the…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI do think they should be properly trained—I am very strongly in favour of that. But, with the greatest respect to the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, that appears to be a completely…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI shall deal with the issues raised in this debate under the following heads. First, what is the correct test and legal framework to apply in relation to mental capacity?…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillHe gave evidence both to the House of Lords Select Committee and the Commons Select Committee, where he gave his opinion that having two different tests for mental capacity was a…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillTwo groups of eating disorders were identified. First, the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay of Llandaff, identified people who eat only one particular thing. I myself have experience…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI think that I have dealt with that point. I have dealt with “inevitably progressive”; I will now deal with the list of illnesses mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Moylan. Again,…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Smith of Newnham and Lady Hayter of Kentish Town, for sharing their significant and painful experiences. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Fox,…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI am not offering anything in the way of a different framework in relation to this. I am more than happy to discuss with people what sort of code of practice there should be. I…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillOf course it is a difficult decision, but that is the decision the person has to be clear, firm and settled about. I do not see parity between the decision the individual has to…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillFirst, in relation to the noble Baroness’s analysis of the Mental Capacity Act, Section 1 says that you shall be assumed to have capacity unless you do not have capacity and…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI said “overpressed”, but I did not mean that; I meant to say pressed. I apologise for saying “overpressed”.06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIt is exactly the same for the co-ordinating doctor and the independent doctor. I am not clear what distinction the noble Baroness is making between the two. Perhaps she can…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIt may assist in the light of that exchange if I indicate what my position is. We had a debate some weeks ago about the question of people who had had their liberty deprived…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIf that is a reference to whether there should be the affirmative rather than the negative procedure, may I take it away? That seems a reasonable request. May I get back to the…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillMay I just finish this? For example, the noble Baroness, Lady Lawlor, proposed 80% and two people expert in the area. The requirement of the Bill is that there should be a…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe noble Baroness suggested that the only interaction will be with the first doctor. She will be aware that Clause 12 requires both doctors to examine and have discussions with…06 Feb 2026HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillIf that is the position, let us agree a process by which, having covered so many topics already, we can speed our process so that perhaps we can get through Committee in the next…06 Feb 2026