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Assisted Suicide

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker; patience is rewarded in this important debate. I will make my own position extremely clear. I start as a Catholic, and I believe that human life is sacred, which I take from the Catholic catechism:"““Human life must be respected because it is sacred. From its beginning human life involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.””" That is my view, but I accept that it will not be the view of all my constituents or of everybody in this country, and that although many of us have personal and deep beliefs, the legislature must think beyond that, to the practicalities involved in the DPP's advice, and see how that fits with our consciences. I want to look at some of the areas of concern in the Director of Public Prosecutions' advice, which is in many ways very sensible. It places a particular obligation on doctors and nurses not to be involved in a suicide, for example, but I am concerned that, in two areas, its flexibility could lead to problems. The first involves the requirement to determine whether the victim has"““reached a voluntary, clear, settled and informed decision to commit suicide””." In such circumstances, we are dealing with very vulnerable people who are ill and who are at the end of their lives. How voluntary is that decision really going to be?