Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, it is late; I will be very brief. The amendment yet again singles out sick and disabled people with progressive conditions for special treatment under the Coroners and Justice Bill. In effect, it proposes that they be regarded as more eligible for assistance with suicide than the rest of us. This is not equality for all. I do not wish to repeat myself; many noble Lords here today have already heard me speak at length about the kind of negative message that such an amendment would send out about the lives of those who are significantly disabled or terminally ill. My mailbag is full, and every day there is more about not wanting assisted dying than about wanting it. Noble Lords have also heard my appraisal of how these messages can translate into dangerous consequences for those in the most vulnerable situations. Report stage is not the time for lengthy expositions of why this amendment would most definitely afford a lesser standard of protection under the law, especially for those who may feel under pressure to end their lives. I am grateful for the assurance that noble Lords will not press this amendment to a vote, because this is neither the time nor the appropriate approach for tackling such a deeply ethical and complex area. If we support this amendment today, we say that terminally ill and severely disabled people do not deserve the very best forum and process to deliberate their life and death choices. The amendment has profound, far-reaching consequences, which strike fear—I am afraid it is fear—and apprehension into the lives of those who struggle to make society recognise that their lives have value and should be supported. We must treat this arena with the greatest respect, care and thorough understanding towards all sides of the spectrum. This is not the place, and it is not the time.