Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (First sitting)

Jack Abbott Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 21st January 2025 Public Bill Committees

I very much feel that our duty is to produce a workable and legally watertight piece of legislation. I have some concerns that I want to put on record. We must not prevaricate, procrastinate and keep on discussing indefinitely something that has been discussed for decades prior to its arrival here, but we need the confidence of the public that we have taken balanced views and have allocated sufficient time for witnesses. I put it on record that I am concerned there may be a public perception that the time we have over three days next week, although there is an extension to that time, is insufficient. If we need to return to this and if there is agreement that we need further witnesses, we need—somehow, within the circumscription of private Members’ Bills—the means to revisit that decision.

[Jack Abbott (Ipswich) (Lab/Co-op)]

I want to briefly address the implication or inference that my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, who is leading the Bill, has not produced an incredibly balanced set of witnesses, or indeed a scrutiny Committee. I put it on record that in principle I am in support of assisted dying, but I did not feel that I could support the Bill on Second Reading, as I had a number of concerns including the strength of the Bill. We will be listening to evidence and discussing the issue not on the basis of principle, but on the basis of the strength of the Bill, the deliverability of the Bill and the number of safeguards, among other things. We are not here to debate the principle—that is a really important point.

Points that have been made about the suitability or otherwise of the people coming to speak to us. It is wrong to imply that any of those individuals will use their personal feelings or principles and discount their neutrality. Are we really saying that the British Medical Association, the judges who have been mentioned or the chief medical officer will put their own views in place of their expertise and knowledge?

I should say for the public’s benefit, my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley ensured that all Committee members were able to submit hundreds of names for consideration. In my view, she has come up with a panel of witnesses who are incredible experts in their field and have long-standing expertise in these areas, and we should absolutely listen to them.

I am sympathetic to the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, who said that we may need extended time to hear from more people. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley would certainly be sympathetic to that and that we can look to do so, if it is necessary. However, the perfect cannot be the enemy of the good. We have to ensure that we move this Committee along at a decent pace and hear from all these people.

Our job is to scrutinise the suitability of the Bill, not the principles. On that basis I oppose the amendment, although I am not against some of the names that have been proposed. Maybe there will be an opportunity to hear from them in future, but I do not think that we can get into a situation where we are removing some names and adding others. We would be here all week if we did, so I will be opposing the amendment.

[The Chair]

I now call the promoter of the Bill. I will then call the mover of the amendment.