Contributions
449 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting)I am absolutely reassured by the hon. Lady’s amendment, and I welcome it, but it is worth drawing attention to the fact that the sentence is important but identifying coercion and…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting)Thank you, Mr Dowd. In that case, I will stop there. I was just making the point that this is important. Amendment 509 states: “Proceedings for an offence under this section may…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting)I thank the Minister for those helpful clarifications. Was any consideration given to also exempting encouragement as an offence under the Suicide Act? I am interested in why it…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting)My apologies, Mr Dowd, but it is a technical point. I think the Minister understands what I am asking.19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting)I rise to speak briefly on clause stand part. As I noted a few weeks back—it feels a long time ago—when we debated amendment 82, the clause leaves the law in a strange position. I…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-sixth sitting)Does the hon. Lady have any concerns about what this position would mean for the end of life workforce? I know we are here to make law, but we cannot ignore the practical…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting)I appreciate that, Mr Dowd, which is why I was elaborating—I wanted to make sure that everyone understood the nature of the question without having seen the letter. In order to…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-sixth sitting)The conversation has moved on a little, but I was just going to make the point that the amendments that I tabled focus very much on the rights of the employer with respect to what…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-sixth sitting)The amendment is simply to prevent a discrimination case. Let us take another example. A rape refuge may provide services to women who have suffered sexual abuse; it may be…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-sixth sitting)The hon. Member is giving a powerful speech. My amendment is only to ensure that if the employee is working in an NHS clinic, they comply with the policy of that clinic. It would…19 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I have real sympathy for that situation, because no one wants to see that. That is why it is really important to be clear up front. I would like care homes and hospices to be…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)We are just giving clarity; we are making it clear that it is reasonable and legal for an organisation to have a policy to not provide assisted dying and therefore to require its…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I completely agree. We are giving the same courtesy and rights at organisation level as we do to individuals. I know that the Committee is very supportive of that position for…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)Yes, I believe that they should be able to discriminate in that way, and I believe their public funds for palliative care should remain consistent and unchanged in spite of…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I am slightly confused about the collective view. That will be done in the same way that any policy is come to. When a company is making a decision about their policies, vision…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)Before I get into my speech, I thank the hon. Lady for her useful questions, as it is important to explore these issues. I will talk in more detail about new clause 23, but I…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)It is really helpful to have these questions. I would, of course, defer to the Ministers, as they will be best placed to answer that. However, I suspect the characteristic would…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I will be very brief. I rise to ask a few questions about clause 21 as a whole. Following our debates on various amendments, I am aware that family and those close to the patient…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)My hon. Friend the Member for East Wiltshire eloquently covered most of the things I would have said. We have probably not spoken enough to date about the impact on pharmacists,…18 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting)I would like to think that that would naturally happen, and we have had lots of conversations where we have said, “In reality, of course this conversation would happen.” But I…18 Mar 2025