---

Assisted Dying

My Lords, in my brief contribution, perhaps I may mention what is happening internationally in this field. We do not want to copy in every last detail the laws that have been passed by others, but the inevitable impetus to change the law that is building up in this country is reflected in experience abroad. Apart from Switzerland, we normally tend to talk about only the Netherlands and Oregon. A similar law to that of the Netherlands was passed in Belgium, where it has continued to operate successfully since 2002. Recently, Luxembourg passed a similar law, and simultaneously included laws covering palliative care, advanced decisions and carers’ leave. As well as in Oregon, in the United States the system has been largely adopted by the neighbouring state of Washington. In a vote at the same time as the recent presidential elections, 58 per cent of Washington voters approved the change in the law, which is now in force. The noble Lord, Lord Warner, mentioned stirrings on this subject in Montana. In the face of all these continuing changes and the publicised cases and opinion polls in this country, I am astonished that we still have some absolute fundamentalist opinion trying to put back the lid on the box of this issue. Such people would be much better served by acknowledging the inevitable changes that are bound to come and working to make that change the best for everyone.