Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, looking at the amendment, I am struck by its dismal wording. It states, ""if assistance is given to a person to commit suicide who is suffering from a confirmed, incurable and disabling illness which prevents them from carrying through their own wish to bring their life to a close"." In other words, the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, believes there is only one option if one is suffering from a confirmed, incurable and disabling illness; namely, the wish to bring one’s life to a close by suicide. This is not the only option. Not only is it not the only option but I submit that those who indicate or imply that this is the only option are causing huge distress to those who have received the bad news that their illness is incurable. I go off on a tangent for a moment in asserting that doctors are not infallible. They can, and do, make a misdiagnosis. They certainly can, and do, make a misprognosis. Nobody can accurately forecast the time and nature of one’s dying. I go back to the main point of my intervention. The very wording of the amendment holds no hope for anyone facing death. The only option advocated by the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, is to end it all in one’s own time and at one’s own wish. This is a travesty. The previous two debates on assisted suicide that we have had in this House on the Bill of the noble Lord, Lord Joffe, and the amendment of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, have shown without peradventure that this House has little appetite for the issue. Nobody is thinking about the devastating effect these debates have had on those who have had the ghastly diagnosis that their illness is terminal. The publicity about Dignitas, the court cases and the endless press comments make all of us think, but what do they do to those who have had this diagnosis? Let me tell you about my first-hand experience. In March, one of my dearest friends of 42 years was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. We were extremely close friends, to the extent that our husbands were involved in our friendship. We spent Christmases and went on holidays together. On the day of the diagnosis, I spoke to my friend within one hour. She asked only one question: "Can you help me get to Switzerland?". I had to say no, which was very difficult. I felt truly responsible to come up with an alternative. My immediate reactions were, first, to remind her of her total belief in her saviour Jesus Christ and, secondly, that I had to look frantically for help. I turned to two wonderful colleagues in this House, who I will not name. Then began an amazing and encouraging period of experiencing the wonderful, caring and supporting characteristics of the services that are available. They included the local authority services of making adjustments to the home and the NHS in its instant response to whatever emergency arose. Above all, the hospice movement offered love, respite and the experience of feeling safe. Let us face it, the nearest and dearest of people who face this diagnosis are not necessarily the people who can deal with it best. The demands on them in emotional terms are absolutely awful, which I know from family experience. My friend was registered with the hospice through the NHS. Every four weeks she had a week of respite for her, the ill person, and her husband, who was the main carer. Once a week, an ambulance was provided by the NHS. It took her to the hospice for a day of physio, occupational therapy, a bath and a hair wash, all of which were extremely important to her. As my dear friend explained, being with people who were much worse off than her made her feel truly humble and added a dimension to the end of her life that she had never experienced in 69 years. She felt safe in the hospice and, most of all, she was overwhelmed by the total dedication of the loving, caring and encouraging hospice workers. My dear friend died less than six months after the prognosis of 18 months—again, it was a misprognosis. She died peacefully and accepted that she was going to meet her Maker. If she had gone to Switzerland, would she have had that loving, caring end? I do not need to answer that. There is an option to suicide and it is up to all of us to make it much more available to all. We must work towards that, but, in the mean time, please let us stop condoning, exulting and encouraging assisted suicide.