On a point of clarification, does my right hon. Friend agree that the excellent palliative care provided by the hospice movement and a possible acceptance of assisted suicide are not mutually exclusive, but could provide a legitimate end-of-life choice? My late second husband, John, died in the Marie Curie hospice...

On a point of clarification, does my right hon. Friend agree that the excellent palliative care provided by the hospice movement and a possible acceptance of assisted suicide are not mutually exclusive, but could provide a legitimate end-of-life choice? My late second husband, John, died in the Marie Curie hospice...

I shall discuss the royal commission in a moment. Other possible assisted suicide incidences were covered in exactly the same way by the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the decision on whether to prosecute. The Government remain neutral on that and it will remain a matter for Parliament....

I shall discuss the royal commission in a moment. Other possible assisted suicide incidences were covered in exactly the same way by the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the decision on whether to prosecute. The Government remain neutral on that and it will remain a matter for Parliament....

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Ms Hewitt) on securing the debate. The law in this area arouses strong and deeply divided views—across the political divide—the public, the media and many Members of the House. In Parliament the debate has taken place mostly in the...

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Ms Hewitt) on securing the debate. The law in this area arouses strong and deeply divided views—across the political divide—the public, the media and many Members of the House. In Parliament the debate has taken place mostly in the...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her thoughtful response to the debate, but I hope that she will accept that the current law provides no safeguards whatever in relation to the rather large number of deaths that Professor Seale found involved a criminal act, however compassionate the motive,...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her thoughtful response to the debate, but I hope that she will accept that the current law provides no safeguards whatever in relation to the rather large number of deaths that Professor Seale found involved a criminal act, however compassionate the motive,...

My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point, drawing on her own personal experience. She is absolutely right. Experience in the state of Oregon and in the Netherlands, for example, shows that wonderful palliative care, far from being reduced or diminished by a change in the law to allow assisted...

My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point, drawing on her own personal experience. She is absolutely right. Experience in the state of Oregon and in the Netherlands, for example, shows that wonderful palliative care, far from being reduced or diminished by a change in the law to allow assisted...

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to raise this important and sensitive issue in the House this evening, Mr. Deputy Speaker. When I served as Health Secretary a few years ago, I became increasingly concerned about the plight of individuals who were seeking an assisted death and who desperately...

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to raise this important and sensitive issue in the House this evening, Mr. Deputy Speaker. When I served as Health Secretary a few years ago, I became increasingly concerned about the plight of individuals who were seeking an assisted death and who desperately...

Adjournment debate on the law on assisted suicide.

Adjournment debate on the law on assisted suicide.

My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General has made the following written ministerial statement: In September last year, and following the House of Lords judgment in Purdy v. DPP, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued his interim policy setting out the particular public interest factors he would take account of when...

My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General has made the following written ministerial statement: In September last year, and following the House of Lords judgment in Purdy v. DPP, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued his interim policy setting out the particular public interest factors he would take account of when...

It is clearly our view that there has been no change in the law, and the Government have no proposals to introduce a change in the law. I will look into when the House last had an opportunity to debate the issue, and will consider, with my colleagues, whether there...

It is clearly our view that there has been no change in the law, and the Government have no proposals to introduce a change in the law. I will look into when the House last had an opportunity to debate the issue, and will consider, with my colleagues, whether there...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the DPP took the action to draw up the guidelines because he was instructed to do so by a judicial decision. There has been recent extensive debate in the House of Lords on the matter. It is some time since we debated the matter...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the DPP took the action to draw up the guidelines because he was instructed to do so by a judicial decision. There has been recent extensive debate in the House of Lords on the matter. It is some time since we debated the matter...

It is not appropriate for the will of the House to be stated on that matter, because we have an independent prosecutorial system. It is for the Crown Prosecution Service, not the House, to decide who is to be prosecuted, on the basis of the evidence in each individual case....

It is not appropriate for the will of the House to be stated on that matter, because we have an independent prosecutorial system. It is for the Crown Prosecution Service, not the House, to decide who is to be prosecuted, on the basis of the evidence in each individual case....

In September last year and following the House of Lords judgment in Purdy v DPP, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued his interim policy setting out the particular public interest factors he would take account of when deciding whether to give consent to the prosecution of a person for the...

In September last year and following the House of Lords judgment in Purdy v DPP, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued his interim policy setting out the particular public interest factors he would take account of when deciding whether to give consent to the prosecution of a person for the...

Notwithstanding her earlier protestations, will the Leader of the House arrange an urgent debate on assisted dying? It is Parliament that writes laws, and it is for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the courts to interpret those laws. There is real concern out in the community that the House...

Notwithstanding her earlier protestations, will the Leader of the House arrange an urgent debate on assisted dying? It is Parliament that writes laws, and it is for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the courts to interpret those laws. There is real concern out in the community that the House...

We could debate for a long time whether this morning's clarification of the guidelines on assisted suicide amount to a change in the law—in my opinion, they do. None the less, if they are to command widespread respect and confidence, would it not be appropriate to table a substantive motion...

We could debate for a long time whether this morning's clarification of the guidelines on assisted suicide amount to a change in the law—in my opinion, they do. None the less, if they are to command widespread respect and confidence, would it not be appropriate to table a substantive motion...

Arising from that point, is it not the case that the DPP has been acting on instructions from the court, which has had a number of cases before it and has therefore decided that guidelines should be drawn up. Although I take a somewhat different position from the hon. Member...

Arising from that point, is it not the case that the DPP has been acting on instructions from the court, which has had a number of cases before it and has therefore decided that guidelines should be drawn up. Although I take a somewhat different position from the hon. Member...

My Lords, before we were so rudely interrupted I was making my concluding remarks. I thank all noble Lords who have been good enough to return to listen to me for the last couple of minutes of this debate. I was talking about the benefits of inquiries and pointing out—I...

My Lords, before we were so rudely interrupted I was making my concluding remarks. I thank all noble Lords who have been good enough to return to listen to me for the last couple of minutes of this debate. I was talking about the benefits of inquiries and pointing out—I...

My Lords, helping people to kill themselves is often portrayed as something humane and harmless, but the noble Lord, Lord Joffe, told the Select Committee that it was just "a first stage". The noble Baroness, Lady Warnock, said in September 2008: ""If you’re demented, you’re wasting people's lives—your family’s lives—and...

My Lords, helping people to kill themselves is often portrayed as something humane and harmless, but the noble Lord, Lord Joffe, told the Select Committee that it was just "a first stage". The noble Baroness, Lady Warnock, said in September 2008: ""If you’re demented, you’re wasting people's lives—your family’s lives—and...

My Lords, where a matter has already been debated, to call for an independent inquiry looks like the old business of holding the referendum again and again until people give the right answer. Parliament is there not to bend to every media-manipulated public whim, but to take the larger and...

My Lords, where a matter has already been debated, to call for an independent inquiry looks like the old business of holding the referendum again and again until people give the right answer. Parliament is there not to bend to every media-manipulated public whim, but to take the larger and...

My Lords on every occasion that proposals to change the law have been put before your Lordships’ House they have been defeated by significant majorities. If there is to be further debate, it should be properly conducted in the House of Commons. Our votes have revealed that the majority here...

My Lords on every occasion that proposals to change the law have been put before your Lordships’ House they have been defeated by significant majorities. If there is to be further debate, it should be properly conducted in the House of Commons. Our votes have revealed that the majority here...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to open this debate so close to Sir Terry Pratchett’s courageous and—dare I say it?—entertaining Dimbleby lecture. I may not reach the same audience as Sir Terry, but we seem to have pulled in quite a lot of people today. Using humour to...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to open this debate so close to Sir Terry Pratchett’s courageous and—dare I say it?—entertaining Dimbleby lecture. I may not reach the same audience as Sir Terry, but we seem to have pulled in quite a lot of people today. Using humour to...