Assisted Dying

Lord Butler of Brockwell Excerpts

Monday 13th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Butler of Brockwell]

My Lords, the number of speakers in this debate shows that the appetite for debating this issue in your Lordships' Chamber has quite rightly not diminished. We should be grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, for this—albeit inadequate—opportunity. But the first question for the Government should surely be whether they can provide a proper opportunity for debate.

The existence and the content of the DPP's guidelines are welcome. But unlike other speakers, I feel that the present situation is not satisfactory. People important to someone wishing to end their lives are left in uncertainty about whether they may be prosecuted: principally their inheriting children and their medical carers. All helpers, whether prosecuted or not, face the trauma of a police inquiry. We need a proper framework of law on this very sensitive matter. It is the duty of government and Parliament to make progress sooner rather than later.