My Lords, this has been a really helpful debate. I am quite sad that we did not get to Committee at all, but never mind. I am conscious that we are in a Session where eight Private Members’ Bills have become Acts of Parliament, and I place on record my thanks to the Ministers, in particular the nobl…
To add to what the noble Lord, Lord Stevens, said, I very much dislike the death notices, for example, which refer to people having put up a great fight or having failed to deal with the battle, or whatever expression is used, which suggests precisely what the noble Lord said—that they have somehow …
My Lords, it seems to have become a regular feature of these Committee sittings that the noble Lord, Lord Deben, and I disagree—but I think we disagree with courtesy, and I hope we disagree on the basis of real understanding. However, it is extraordinary that we have got to this stage in the Bill an…
I still cannot think of another, better way of saying it. I think it would be rude to my noble friend to say that I refer her to my previous answer, but I am afraid I do.
My Lords, I know I am out of order because I was not here at the beginning of the debate on this amendment, but I feel it is important to say to the noble Lord that I was not grimacing at the point he was making.
I am going to continue with this point, because it is a general point that there has been very limited discussion on the amendments since I have come into the House.
My Lords, I wonder whether the House will listen to the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, which is that she is probably the only person in the House—and certainly the only person who has spoken this morning—who has had practical experience of assessing people. She spoke very well about …
My Lords, does the noble Lord agree with me that one of the international facts that supports entirely the position he is taking is that, in the now 33 jurisdictions where assisted dying is allowed, it is usually the case—I cite one or two—that, following that suggestion by a doctor, or prognosis or…
My Lords, I think this is relevant to the points that have been made. If we did consider this Bill again under the Parliament Act, the amendments that this House had passed in this Session would have a far greater chance of surviving than those debated in subsequent proceedings. Therefore, it is imp…
My Lords, I was only going to say to the noble Lord that, as I am sure he will remember, I too was a member of those earlier Select Committees. I am sure in that context he will remember that the arguments, discussions and vagueness, frankly, about how one would ever define “intolerable suffering” i…
My Lords, I must respond to that. I certainly did not accuse the noble Lord of being patronising. I said that I thought there were difficulties in health policy when we accepted some of the old—and, now, more old-fashioned—concepts in which the medical profession seemed to be patronising. I was not …
I wonder whether the noble Lord would accept the actual evidence of one member of the medical profession who gave evidence to the Select Committee. She reflected many of the concerns that people who support the Bill agree with. She said that, when the healthcare professions
“get it wrong … it is us…
Is the noble Baroness absolutely confident that her remarks are pertinent to the Motion and the question of how much time should be allocated to the debate?
Can I ask the noble Lord, having cited the doctor Michael Mulholland as a great authority in relation to his evidence to the Select Committee, whether he also accepts what Dr Mulholland said to the Select Committee? He said:
“As GPs, we are very used to providing holistic care and trying to underst…
I have not the remotest idea. It is such an important point that I would have to go away and reflect. I am not commenting on ability or capacity; the point I am making to the Committee is about the difficulty of this for a doctor, or several doctors—probably GPs. The Royal College of Psychiatrists, …
I never suggested that they should be alternatives. The truth is that palliative care is not available in all parts of our country, so this has to be a real choice. That is the only element I made.
Also, I hope that all of us would look at the evidence, from wherever it came. We know that we have t…