My Lords, first, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have participated in what I think has been a high-quality debate lasting something like 1 hour and 20 minutes—a debate that I suspect almost everybody in the House would agree has not been marked with any frivolity whatever.
I reject what the noble and learned Lord just said. I am not proposing that the court should make a judgment of the quality of the person’s life. That is a caricature of what I am suggesting. I, and those who support these amendments, suggest that there should be an assessment of the quality of the decision that is made by the individual, which is quite different. Yes, it should be at a high bar. We deliberately set the bar high and we do so on conscientious and ethical grounds. Of course, I acknowledge that the noble and learned Lord, too, has conscientious and ethical grounds for his viewpoint.
Those of us who lie in the bath or climb out of the shower at 7.45 in the morning are fortunate to hear the wise vignettes of the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, and the noble Lord, Lord Singh. We get our bonuses in this House, as we have enjoyed moments of real wisdom from both of them this afternoon, as we do fairly regularly on Radio 4. I am grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Empey and Lord Alton, for highlighting the issue about introducing some independence into this decision-making process.
Indeed, I have in my hand a press release issued yesterday by the senior public affairs adviser, David Knowles, acting on behalf of the British Medical Association, of which the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, is president. As I understand it, the BMA represents all doctors in one form or another. It states:
“Legalised assisted dying could have a profound and detrimental effect on the doctor-patient relationship, even where doctors’ involvement is limited to assessment, verification, or prescribing”.
That was only one of its grounds. The noble Lords, Lord Empey and Lord Alton, answered that point. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, added to that observation by saying that, if we were to introduce the amendments, we might get the medical profession to participate in the process, rather than being opposed to it. In our reflections before we may have to vote at Report stage, if there is one, that point should be taken into account.
1.45 pm
I am sure that the whole House was taken by the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Hussain, which related to one of a number of personal experiences that the House has been able to enjoy in dealing with this difficult issue over the years. What marked out the debate for me was the opportunity to hear the thoughtful speech of the noble Lord, Lord Deben. He raised three elements: speed, rigour and a manageable aftermath. I would like to add one element, which is safety. My amendments would deal with the three key elements that he mentioned, plus would ensure that we have safety, which most certainly is not ensured under the noble and learned Lord’s Bill.
The noble Lord, Lord Deben, also made the powerful point, which I strongly endorse, that we should be able to talk about death much more frankly than we do. We celebrate birth, but we do not look at death in anything like the same context, although it is just as powerful a part of our family lives. Those of us who have enjoyed—I use that word deliberately—deathbed experiences know what an extraordinary effect, as described by the noble Lord, Lord Deben, they can have on the whole family. I have enjoyed two in particular. I recall that the night before my original mother-in-law, who was a wonderful woman, died, she instructed me to go to a particular cupboard and remove a bottle of vintage brandy, of which I knew nothing. The family stood round and drank a toast to her in her presence. She died the following morning beside us in a bed as the family was eating breakfast. Those were experiences that celebrated her life, and her grandchildren talk about it frequently.
We seek through the amendments to produce a system which has speed, rigour and not just a manageable but a very positive aftermath and which is safe. The reassurance of that safety is through the menu of propositions for management by the court. I greatly admire the noble and learned Lord, but I earnestly entreat him before Report—we are of course willing to talk to him—to consider those elements, because they have not been sufficiently covered in the Bill. With that in mind, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.