Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Debate between Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown and Lord Carlile of Berriew

Committee stage
Friday 23rd January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (DUP)]

I thank the noble Baroness. I realise that my time is up, but I draw to a close by asking noble Lords to notice the emphasis on GMC guidance. Guidance is not the law. The GMC itself states in its preamble that its guidance is intended to help doctors

“practise ethically and in line with law”—

it cannot make the law. It goes on:

“If you’re not sure how the law applies in a given situation, seek advice through local procedures, consult your defence body or professional association, or seek independent legal advice”.


It says finally:

“The professional standards describe good practice, and not every departure from them will be considered serious”.


That is equally true for NICE guidance as well.

[Lord Carlile of Berriew (CB)]

My Lords, as a former, if somewhat historic, member of the General Medical Council, I can confirm that the GMC has no guidance relating to ending someone’s life because it is, at the present time, simply unlawful to end someone’s life.

I hope that I can try to simplify what is being discussed. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, that there is a need to add something, though possibly not very much, to this Bill to ensure that consent, as consent, is included. We are talking about four stages. The application is not consent; it is just an application. Capacity is measured and is not an application. The discussion described in Clause 12 is a discussion, and I say to the noble Lord opposite that it is most definitely not the obtaining of consent. Then there is the issue of obtaining consent, which includes the effect of any drugs to be used, and that is what I think the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, is seeking to add to this Bill.

Let me briefly give an example from my own experience. I had an extraordinarily formidable and occasionally difficult mother, and on one occasion she had a heart attack, not long before her death. She was taken into a very good cardiology unit in Blackpool, so I rushed up to Blackpool at high speed and found myself on the ward with my mother—whose eyesight and hearing were not good, but her brain was as good as any in your Lordships’ House—and a consultant. The consultant explained that he could do an operation which he had done once on a male patient aged 91, but he was prepared to try it on my mother. She was very enthusiastic to have any medical treatment that might prolong her life, which, after all, had by then lasted for only 98 and a half years.

Once we had had the discussion, the cardiologist proffered a consent form to me. My reply, which I will abbreviate, went something like, “Not likely; she is perfectly capable of consenting herself. But it must be explained to her so that she can hear it clearly. So, why don’t you sit down while I explain what you have said to me, and you correct me if anything is wrong?”

In due course, she signed the consent form and had the operation. Happily, the operation was entirely successful. Sadly, the effect of the operation gave her such a pounding heart that the rest of her bodily functions could not cope with it. She died a few weeks later. When she said to me during the period before her death, “Darling, I never thought it would end like this”, I thought to myself, thank God she signed the consent form, not me.

Consent has a conspicuous and real meaning. It requires full understanding from the patient. It can go horribly wrong, as it unfortunately did for my mother. I wish we had been able to celebrate her 100th birthday. But that element of consent, consent, consent—a bit like “education, education, education”—is not clearly set out in the Bill. It is not a major change to be made, and I would invite the noble and learned Lord to incorporate it.