---

Assisted Dying

My Lords, one key question for any independent inquiry on this issue must be how we can give dying patients greater choice and control while ensuring that palliative care—of which we are justly proud in this country—continues to develop. Many people assume that there would be no need for assisted dying legislation if the best palliative care were available to all. However, this is not true: we know that without assisted dying legislation the suffering of a small number of patients will never be relieved by palliative care. Almost 90 per cent of people seeking assisted dying in Oregon do so from within the palliative care services. Evidence from countries which have legalised assisted dying does not support the claim that it would undermine developments in palliative care. The percentage of patients in Oregon enrolled in hospice care programmes has more than doubled. In Belgium and the Netherlands there has also been improved palliative care provision since legislation was introduced. Palliative care and assisted dying legislation share many common values: the alleviation of suffering, patient choice and a patient-focused process. They should not be seen in isolation. True patient choice at the end of life should include access to high-quality palliative care. An independent inquiry would show that assisted dying legislation would enable us to ensure that palliative care improved and increased in this country.