To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants in the Ministry of Justice have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants in the Ministry of Justice have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants in the Ministry of Justice are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants in the Ministry of Justice are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants in the Cabinet Office are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants in the Cabinet Office are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants in the Cabinet Office have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil servants in the Cabinet Office have been allowed or instructed to continue working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when this parliamentary session ends.

Lords committee stage fourteenth day. Lords motion that the House do now resolve itself into Committee. Amendments to the motion debated and withdrawn. Original motion withdrawn.

Lords committee stage fourteenth day. Lords motion that the House do now resolve itself into Committee. Amendments to the motion debated and withdrawn. Original motion withdrawn.

Moved by

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Moved by

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Moved by

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Moved by

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, today is our final day scheduled for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. I am despondent that this Bill, so important to so many, has failed not on its merits but as a result of procedural wrangling. There is no prospect that the Bill can get...

My Lords, today is our final day scheduled for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. I am despondent that this Bill, so important to so many, has failed not on its merits but as a result of procedural wrangling. There is no prospect that the Bill can get...

Moved by

Baroness Coffey

Moved by

Baroness Coffey

My Lords, “The Lord moves in mysterious ways” is a well-known phrase. But today perhaps it is better to say, “The Lords move in mysterious ways”. I came back from the Council of Europe specifically to continue debate on the Bill, because I believe that scrutiny is necessary. I thought...

My Lords, “The Lord moves in mysterious ways” is a well-known phrase. But today perhaps it is better to say, “The Lords move in mysterious ways”. I came back from the Council of Europe specifically to continue debate on the Bill, because I believe that scrutiny is necessary. I thought...

The noble Baroness will be aware, and I am sure she will agree, that if the Bill comes back a second time to the Commons, it will come back here. The effect of the Parliament Act is not to stop further debate but simply to prevent the House blocking the...

The noble Baroness will be aware, and I am sure she will agree, that if the Bill comes back a second time to the Commons, it will come back here. The effect of the Parliament Act is not to stop further debate but simply to prevent the House blocking the...

Yes, I completely agree. That is why I say that I respect the right of MPs to decide to use the Parliament Act process. But I would rather that we did not have to go through all this again, having to change what has been a flawed Bill at this...

Yes, I completely agree. That is why I say that I respect the right of MPs to decide to use the Parliament Act process. But I would rather that we did not have to go through all this again, having to change what has been a flawed Bill at this...

My Lords, I begin on a personal note. As I have mentioned in previous debates, my mother was a Marie Curie nurse who supported terminally ill people through their final days. In 2007, she was diagnosed with late-stage womb cancer. When she was in pain at the end of her...

My Lords, I begin on a personal note. As I have mentioned in previous debates, my mother was a Marie Curie nurse who supported terminally ill people through their final days. In 2007, she was diagnosed with late-stage womb cancer. When she was in pain at the end of her...

My Lords, I speak as one of the Lords spiritual and as a member of the Select Committee that examined the Bill. I do so with a deep sense of responsibility for the integrity of our legislative process and for the dignity and protection of those whose lives may be...

My Lords, I speak as one of the Lords spiritual and as a member of the Select Committee that examined the Bill. I do so with a deep sense of responsibility for the integrity of our legislative process and for the dignity and protection of those whose lives may be...

My Lords, I express my agreement with the concern of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, that the Committee stage of the Bill should have been completed. I wanted to be part of a process that amended the Bill so that we could reach Report and have some meaningful...

My Lords, I express my agreement with the concern of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, that the Committee stage of the Bill should have been completed. I wanted to be part of a process that amended the Bill so that we could reach Report and have some meaningful...

My Lords, this House has debated assisted dying this century on nine occasions, first in 2003 and then in 2005. There are very few members in the House today who spoke in those debates, with the possible exception of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay of Llandaff. She was a very...

My Lords, this House has debated assisted dying this century on nine occasions, first in 2003 and then in 2005. There are very few members in the House today who spoke in those debates, with the possible exception of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay of Llandaff. She was a very...

My Lords, I hesitate to interrupt the noble Lord, Lord Baker, but I am sure he would want the House to be aware that the Attorney-General’s guidelines have assisted in enabling prosecutors to make decisions which would obviate the need for prosecution where there is no evidence that the person...

My Lords, I hesitate to interrupt the noble Lord, Lord Baker, but I am sure he would want the House to be aware that the Attorney-General’s guidelines have assisted in enabling prosecutors to make decisions which would obviate the need for prosecution where there is no evidence that the person...

I understand what the noble and learned Baroness is saying, but the police have decided very clearly what their position is. Between 2009 and 2025, 199 cases were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the police for assisted suicide. Of those 199 cases, 131 were not proceeded with...

I understand what the noble and learned Baroness is saying, but the police have decided very clearly what their position is. Between 2009 and 2025, 199 cases were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the police for assisted suicide. Of those 199 cases, 131 were not proceeded with...

I do not want to interrupt the noble Lord again, but I think it is right for him to know that this matter came before the Attorney-General, myself, to determine how we should address this problem. How could we make it better? How could we differentiate between those who should...

I do not want to interrupt the noble Lord again, but I think it is right for him to know that this matter came before the Attorney-General, myself, to determine how we should address this problem. How could we make it better? How could we differentiate between those who should...

I recognise that there is that power, but it is very rarely used. That is the point I have been making all the time. Juries will not convict.

This has happened before in our history. There was a time when the law decided that youngsters as young as 10 or 12...

I recognise that there is that power, but it is very rarely used. That is the point I have been making all the time. Juries will not convict.

This has happened before in our history. There was a time when the law decided that youngsters as young as 10 or 12...

My Lords, I have spoken only once previously in the many long hours of debate on the Bill. That was at Second Reading, when I told the story of Daniel, the much-loved son of my noble friend Lord Monks, who, in the absence of any form of assisted dying in...

My Lords, I have spoken only once previously in the many long hours of debate on the Bill. That was at Second Reading, when I told the story of Daniel, the much-loved son of my noble friend Lord Monks, who, in the absence of any form of assisted dying in...

My Lords—

My Lords—

With great respect, I would like to conclude my remarks.

There were many cases of honourable Members weighing their positions after close consultation with deeply interested constituents. Noble Lords may disagree with the Bill and oppose its objectives, but please do not claim that there is some grave technical deficiency in...

With great respect, I would like to conclude my remarks.

There were many cases of honourable Members weighing their positions after close consultation with deeply interested constituents. Noble Lords may disagree with the Bill and oppose its objectives, but please do not claim that there is some grave technical deficiency in...

My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord for an opportunity to reflect on this debate. Nearly 250 Members have spoken in the debate, not the minority that have been spoken about. I remind the House that I am a past president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and...

My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord for an opportunity to reflect on this debate. Nearly 250 Members have spoken in the debate, not the minority that have been spoken about. I remind the House that I am a past president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and...

With the greatest respect to a number of noble Lords, I think what we are hearing is, in a sense, what we would have heard had we taken the Bill to Third Reading. We are hearing debates about the principle of the Bill, whereas this debate should be about where...

With the greatest respect to a number of noble Lords, I think what we are hearing is, in a sense, what we would have heard had we taken the Bill to Third Reading. We are hearing debates about the principle of the Bill, whereas this debate should be about where...

My Lords, I put down one amendment and did not speak to it. I do not like the Bill—everyone knows that—but I was working, and trying very hard, to get it to Third Reading. I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for recognising that. I want...

My Lords, I put down one amendment and did not speak to it. I do not like the Bill—everyone knows that—but I was working, and trying very hard, to get it to Third Reading. I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for recognising that. I want...

My Lords, I am one of the newbies the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, referred to, although I have not spent time in government—I have spent a lot of time in local government and a brief time in the European Parliament. Noble Lords will note that I have spoken only twice...

My Lords, I am one of the newbies the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, referred to, although I have not spent time in government—I have spent a lot of time in local government and a brief time in the European Parliament. Noble Lords will note that I have spoken only twice...

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Markham, I am one of the members of your Lordships’ Select Committee. We came to the Bill from different perspectives. As noble Lords know, I am not in favour of the principle of assisted dying. However, my view has always been that

the...

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Markham, I am one of the members of your Lordships’ Select Committee. We came to the Bill from different perspectives. As noble Lords know, I am not in favour of the principle of assisted dying. However, my view has always been that

the...

I apologise for intervening but I completely agree with what the noble Baroness has just said. The way in which that would happen is that the Bill would come back from the Commons and we would agree here to put in the amendments that I put in as a result...

I apologise for intervening but I completely agree with what the noble Baroness has just said. The way in which that would happen is that the Bill would come back from the Commons and we would agree here to put in the amendments that I put in as a result...

My Lords, as we all know, this is a Private Member’s Bill. There was no manifesto commitment to it, nor was it in the King’s Speech.

My Lords, as we all know, this is a Private Member’s Bill. There was no manifesto commitment to it, nor was it in the King’s Speech.

My Lords—

My Lords—

The noble and learned Lord is interrupting me but I am not going to give way.

As the Constitution Committee of your Lordships’ House said, it is our duty to scrutinise, approve, amend or reject any Bill. Constitutionally, we are under no duty to pass a Bill simply because the other...

The noble and learned Lord is interrupting me but I am not going to give way.

As the Constitution Committee of your Lordships’ House said, it is our duty to scrutinise, approve, amend or reject any Bill. Constitutionally, we are under no duty to pass a Bill simply because the other...

Is the noble Baroness’s position that we have completed our scrutiny in Committee of all clauses beyond the seven that she has mentioned? If not, I am not quite sure what point she is making. We certainly mentioned those clauses, but the idea that we completed our scrutiny is nonsense.

Is the noble Baroness’s position that we have completed our scrutiny in Committee of all clauses beyond the seven that she has mentioned? If not, I am not quite sure what point she is making. We certainly mentioned those clauses, but the idea that we completed our scrutiny is nonsense.

My Lords, to be accused of nonsense is slightly unsettling. I do not accept the accusation. The reality is that we have considered in depth a number of issues—

My Lords, to be accused of nonsense is slightly unsettling. I do not accept the accusation. The reality is that we have considered in depth a number of issues—

I apologise for saying “nonsense”.

I apologise for saying “nonsense”.

This Bill seeks to provide for individuals to be provided by doctors with fatal drugs to kill themselves. Where those patients cannot self-administer, Clause 25(8) says that

“the coordinating doctor may … assist that person to ingest or otherwise self-administer”

the drug. We have not yet debated this clause at length, but...

This Bill seeks to provide for individuals to be provided by doctors with fatal drugs to kill themselves. Where those patients cannot self-administer, Clause 25(8) says that

“the coordinating doctor may … assist that person to ingest or otherwise self-administer”

the drug. We have not yet debated this clause at length, but...

I am bringing my comments to an end.

We have tabled amendments to provide some protection for the vulnerable, the weak, the poor, the disabled, the sick, those with suicidal ideation, those with mental health problems and all those whom we have identified. Many of us have concluded that this Bill...

I am bringing my comments to an end.

We have tabled amendments to provide some protection for the vulnerable, the weak, the poor, the disabled, the sick, those with suicidal ideation, those with mental health problems and all those whom we have identified. Many of us have concluded that this Bill...

The 12 minutes include the interruptions I have suffered.

I pay tribute to all those who have written to encourage us as we fulfil our duties as legislators in your Lordships’ House in scrutinising this flawed and very dangerous Bill.

Noon

The 12 minutes include the interruptions I have suffered.

I pay tribute to all those who have written to encourage us as we fulfil our duties as legislators in your Lordships’ House in scrutinising this flawed and very dangerous Bill.

Noon

My Lords, I regret that I was not here this winter during the discussions on the Bill. But watching it on television has been a key part of the rhythm of the weeks that I have spent at home. During my chemo-induced cognitive dysfunction, the plot of “Midsomer Murders” was...

My Lords, I regret that I was not here this winter during the discussions on the Bill. But watching it on television has been a key part of the rhythm of the weeks that I have spent at home. During my chemo-induced cognitive dysfunction, the plot of “Midsomer Murders” was...

My Lords, it is an absolute privilege to follow the very moving and focused speech of the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis. Perhaps the one good thing about the last year that has been a real revelation, and something that I respect enormously, is the number of people who...

My Lords, it is an absolute privilege to follow the very moving and focused speech of the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis. Perhaps the one good thing about the last year that has been a real revelation, and something that I respect enormously, is the number of people who...

My Lords, my mother-in-law died from motor neurone disease a couple of years ago. She was a primary school headmistress, and she took firm control of her life throughout it. Three weeks before she died, she called a multidisciplinary team meeting of all the various clinicians, including the palliative care...

My Lords, my mother-in-law died from motor neurone disease a couple of years ago. She was a primary school headmistress, and she took firm control of her life throughout it. Three weeks before she died, she called a multidisciplinary team meeting of all the various clinicians, including the palliative care...

My Lords, it is important that we, as an unelected Chamber, focus on what the public think. Over the last few months, we have heard opponents of the Bill suggest that it lacks public support; I want to correct the record on that. The most recent British Social Attitudes survey—which...

My Lords, it is important that we, as an unelected Chamber, focus on what the public think. Over the last few months, we have heard opponents of the Bill suggest that it lacks public support; I want to correct the record on that. The most recent British Social Attitudes survey—which...

My Lords—

My Lords—

I am speaking very briefly so, if the noble Baroness does not mind, I will continue. Many of those stories have been told very movingly here today.

The point is that 52% of us have cared for or witnessed a family member who was terminally ill and suffering at the end...

I am speaking very briefly so, if the noble Baroness does not mind, I will continue. Many of those stories have been told very movingly here today.

The point is that 52% of us have cared for or witnessed a family member who was terminally ill and suffering at the end...

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords, as requested by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, I have reflected on the progress we have made on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to date. I know that we have engaged in vital scrutiny work and made progress, although for the supporters of...

My Lords, as requested by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, I have reflected on the progress we have made on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to date. I know that we have engaged in vital scrutiny work and made progress, although for the supporters of...