Coroners and Justice Bill

Most of the arguments that I would have wished to put have already been put very much better by other noble Lords with medical and legal knowledge. The most impressive argument is that we have to take account not merely of compassionate assistance but of interested assistance and it is extraordinarily difficult to imagine any drafting that would do that. I wish to draw attention to one aspect of the drafting of the amendment, about which I am still very unclear. In subsection (1)(a) the safeguard is that, ""the act is done solely or principally for the purpose of enabling or assisting T to travel to a country or territory in which assisted dying is lawful"." An intention which is solely or principally for a certain purpose gives one the idea that what is at stake is one last holiday in Switzerland and is perhaps solely or principally for the purpose of travel. We all know that the circumstance which we are discussing is not solely or principally for assisting travel. It is principally for assisting someone to reach a territory where they can have assisted dying. Therefore, I cannot see that there could be cases that would meet the provision of this amendment in its own terms.