Coroners and Justice Bill

I speak simply as a medical practitioner when I say I have every sympathy for those unfortunate patients and carers who find themselves in the horrible position of those examples we have been hearing about. However, when one hears of what goes on at Dignitas—where, in an unregulated hotel room, an unregulated non-medical enthusiast helps anyone who wishes it to commit suicide—it is difficult to have much confidence that this is what we should be encouraging. I have another concern. I refer to the effect of accepting this amendment on any future Bills which are likely to come before this House along the lines of the assisted dying Bill that we have hitherto rejected. Imagine the discussion we will have, and the clearly illogical and somewhat ludicrous position we will then be in, where a relative can quite legally take a person abroad for assisted suicide, but could not do so in the United Kingdom. Passing this amendment here and now would make it quite inconsistent of us not to pass such a Bill in the future. It would, in effect, short-circuit the sort of detailed and considered debate that we will need about the pros and cons of an assisted suicide. For that reason, I believe we should await a fuller consideration at that stage. If a new assisted dying Bill was to be passed after a full debate, then we would not need this amendment. For that reason, I oppose it.