Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill [HL]

My Lords, I speak as one who supports the Bill brought forward by the noble Lord, Lord Joffe. The evidence we read and heard as members of the Select Committee gave me added confidence in that opinion. The things I would have said in defence of the Bill today have been put quite brilliantly by the noble Lords, Lord Ashley of Stoke, Lord Beaumont of Whitley, Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar, the noble Earl, Lord Arran, my noble friend Lord Goodhart, the noble Baronesses, Lady Jay of Paddington, Lady Murphy, Lady Hayman, Lady David, and many others. Were the Bill to get to a Committee of the whole House, which I devoutly hope it will and which was the unanimous recommendation of the members of the Select Committee, I might want to table amendments to it. In particular, the Bill does not include any reference to the role of nurses in the care of the dying and in that of their friends and families. I understand that reference to this role may be difficult to include in the Bill, bearing in mind that the sole responsibility for responding to a patient’s request is laid upon the doctor. But we would need to ensure at the very least that nurses could not be implicated against their will or by mistake. I want to add only that we live in a secular society within which individuals may express their own belief in the way they live their individual lives. Nothing in the Bill could force anyone who objects to it on religious or philosophical grounds to avail themselves of its provisions, any more than the existence of laws permitting divorce can force a couple to divorce if they feel that their religious beliefs forbid them to do so. I share the dismay expressed by my noble friend Lord Taverne regarding the so-called Christian campaigns against the Bill. But in any case, this issue is surely one for society as a whole to determine, not doctors or divines acting on our behalf. I turn now to the amendment. I am saddened by my noble friend’s decision to put down an amendment to kill the Bill. First, it seems to run contrary to the longstanding traditions of free speech embraced by capital-l Liberals and little-l liberals alike. Secondly, it prevents this House doing what it does best: giving intense and detailed attention to the minutiae of legislation so as to test its real scope and consequences, whether intended or unintended. Thirdly, this Bill and the whole issue of the rights and wrongs of personal control of end-of-life decisions are of intense interest to the public. Indeed, as the noble Lord, Lord Joffe, reminded us, over a number of years there has been a substantial majority in favour of the sort of proposals being put forward in this Bill. This House, more than any other institution I can think of, is ideally suited through its composition and methods of working to render a real service to the people of this country, not by refusing to consider the Bill in detail, but by insisting on so doing. So I hope that my noble friend will not put his amendment to the vote. But if he does so, I urge noble Lords, and especially those who do not like the Bill, to reject the amendment.