Assisted Dying Bill [HL]

Lord Browne of Belmont Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 22nd October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Browne of Belmont (DUP)]

My Lords, I am grateful to be able to contribute to this important debate. I have many questions to ask about the so-called safeguards in the Bill.

Although the framework in the Bill of two doctors agreeing that a person has a terminal illness is clear, exactly how the process will work leaves important questions unanswered. How will a person’s mental capacity be judged? “Capacity” is defined in the Bill by the Mental Capacity Act 2005, but the purpose of that Act is to determine whether someone does not have the capacity, not whether they do have the capacity, to make a decision that cannot be reversed. The test is in Clause 1(2)(c)(ii).

What will happen if a person is identified as suffering from depression? Depression is frequently associated with terminal illnesses so it is likely that this situation will arise. There is no clear statement that the High Court can look at to judge whether a person who suffers from depression as well as a terminal illness meets the Bill’s criteria. Instead, the question of how depression is to be dealt with will be set out under Clause 8 in a code of practice

“recognising and taking account of the effects of depression or other psychological disorders that may impair a person’s decision-making”.

The Bill recognises that depression may impair a person’s decision-making but it is not clear whether that means that the two doctors should determine whether the person has impaired decision-making, nor whether it excludes that person from an assisted death. We need to ask ourselves whether we want a Bill that might allow a person suffering from depression to proceed with a request for assisted suicide.

What will happen if a person cannot self-administer the lethal drugs? The fact that the person must take the drugs themselves has been seen as the ultimate safeguard because the patient has the final control over their death and, specifically, because the Bill is not meant to legalise euthanasia—that is, a doctor directly ending a patient’s life. However, my reading of the Bill is that it does not make it clear whether it would still apply if a patient was unable physically to self-administer the drugs. Given that self-administration is seen as such a key safeguard, the ability to self-administer should be part of the assessment and declaration process that the High Court should review.

I make these points before the House as examples of my deep concerns about the safeguards in the Bill. This is why I will not be supporting it.