Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, before this debate, I had sought out the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, and told him that I would not be supporting this amendment, rather on the lines outlined by the noble Lord, Lord Low. I had hoped that we would be moving towards a commission of inquiry into care at the end of life, which includes the way in which we help people to die. However, I have to say that, while I have listened to the illogical and vituperative messages from other Members of the House, I do not think that any of those noble Lords has listened to the arguments being put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice. Let us forget the coroners for the minute; I do not think that anyone would see them as particularly appropriate people to do this. The noble Lord was pointing out that at the moment people with profound disabilities and severe illnesses, particularly those who are at the end of their life, are disbarred from making a decision that the able-bodied among us can make if we feel like it without the need for assistance. In this House, we generally support strongly the rights of people with a disability to access goods, services and care and to call forth special circumstances of assistance that are appropriate to individual needs. That is all that this amendment seeks to do in respect of a personal wish to end one’s life. It is a wish that the rest of us are prevented from carrying out only if we have a mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act, although I accept for the moment that most people who wish to end their lives may have a mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act and do not therefore have a "free and settled wish", as it is rather unusually expressed in the amendment. The amendment, on the face of it, presses for equality for people with disabilities and serious illnesses, which I applaud. However, for all the reasons that were set out by the noble Lord, Lord Low, I do not support the amendment as it is—and, of course, as we have said, this is not the time and the place. We need a further debate and, to look at all the issues, we probably need a further Private Member’s Bill to come forward. However, I am amazed that people should have failed to listen to what the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, was actually saying.