Contributions
449 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I completely agree. Some of the amendments were tabled because there is not a best-interest component in the Bill. In an ideal world, I would have liked it to have included a…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)This is a really important opportunity to share all these examples. I have to be honest that I am not sure I see the relevance of how a case is funded, and I cannot speak on that…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I thank my right hon. Friend for that alternative perspective. The appeal process is valid only if there is new and relevant information that the panel did not have. For someone…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I thank the hon. Member. I would just clarify that currently there is no legal right for a family to provide information to the panel, which is part of the issue. I turn to my…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I completely agree. While I was preparing my speech, as is often the way, I found myself wishing that I had tabled an amendment to add a legal requirement that the family be able…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)That comes under subsection (2) of my amendment: “The Commissioner will allow the application for reconsideration if the Panel’s decision was— (a) wrong, or (b) unjust”. It is…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. She eloquently explains exactly the point I was trying to make. That is absolutely right. Clearly, we do not expect the panel to…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I thank my right hon. Friend for raising that point, because it gives me a wonderful opportunity to draw everyone’s attention to subsection (3) of my amendment, which states: “The…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-third sitting)I thank the Minister for the very clear way in which she is explaining everything. I completely acknowledge what she has just said. As she rightly said, I alluded to the fact that…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I rise to speak to new clauses 17 and 21 and to the four associated amendments. There is a lot to say, so please bear with me, but I will do my best not to repeat myself. How…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I thank the hon. Member for that confirmation. Now that I have that clarity, I will skip on. One aspect of the panel that gives me cause for concern is that the panel would not…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I welcome the hon. Lady’s intervention, but the point I am making is not about coercion; it is about the subtleties in families’ relationships. I was trying to bring to life a…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I am making a point regarding if a person fitted the diagnosis in that they are terminally unwell, but it is actually the fact that they have got nowhere to live that is really…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)My hon. Friend makes a good point; I completely agree with him on that front. This goes back to being clear on the face of the Bill about what the panel does and the powers it has…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I am afraid I do not agree. I do not think that we should not put in place precise legislation because we trust that everyone will do the right thing. Our job as lawmakers is to…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)Again, I am not sure I agree that that is what I am here to do today. I think my job is to set out the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed amendment, and I do think that the…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I absolutely welcome those amendments. I do think they improve the safety of the Bill. As I have mentioned, I would have liked to see a truly multidisciplinary approach. At the…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)My right hon. Friend makes an important point. I do not think family always know best. There are situations where someone rightly will want to exclude their family from the…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-second sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for that important point. My point is that the family should be listened to and should have a route to legally provide information to the panel. Right…12 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-third sitting)My hon. Friend is making a powerful point. One of my concerns is about what happens if someone seeks assisted dying privately through a clinic. I see risks with multidisciplinary…12 Mar 2025