Assisted Dying Bill [HL]

Baroness D'Souza Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 22nd October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness D'Souza (CB)]

My Lords, noble Lords have had many heartrending letters expressing the pain and indignity at the end of life. Equally, we have had letters expressing the fear that passing this Bill would lead to a policy of euthanasia. This brings up the question of what moral framework we might use to arrive at a view. Life is precious, sacred even; we all know that. But to condemn our loved ones, or anyone, to an agonising last few weeks, in circumstances we would not allow our animals to undergo, is to my mind immoral and heartless. Who really would wish to see loved ones of their own suffering the gross indignity of repeated faecal vomiting or, as one letter expressed, howling in pain like a wolf? The question is: are we as a society ready to sanctify suffering by means of sanctifying life?

The Bill has a very limited purview; the safeguards are robust; the choices are humane. It should be an additional option to palliative care. The evidence from countries that already have adopted assisted dying for the terminally ill is not of misuse and enforced decisions by others, despite the often selectively quoted examples. I, like many colleagues, have been struck by the unfairness of the present system. Those who have the financial resources can achieve a release from their suffering by travelling abroad at a cost of several thousand pounds. Those without the resources are compelled to continue suffering. Furthermore, those who have no recourse other than to self-administer drugs to end their lives can experience truly horrific outcomes. One of the most often quoted views of those who support this Bill is that they would not wish to be a burden on the family. None of us would wish to be a burden on our families. This seems a perfectly valid reason for requesting a slightly earlier, but none the less inevitable, death.

I support this Bill wholeheartedly. I accept that it may not have a smooth passage in this or the other place—indeed, it may need several amendments to add protections—but it is a valuable contribution to the public discourse that will allow, in due course, further debate, consideration and eventual acceptance to emerge.