Assisted Dying Bill [HL]

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 22nd October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (DUP)]

My Lords, I appreciate that this is very sensitive subject. Life is an amazing and wonderful journey, but death is inevitable for us all. I believe, as the scripture said, that

“it is appointed unto men once to die”—

but that is not the end—

“but after this the judgment.”

As well as considering the impact of the Bill on patients and the vulnerable, we must consider the impact on healthcare professionals, especially of Clause 5, the wording of which will be a source of real concern. No health professional can be certain that they are entitled to fully opt out, as the Bill envisages. There is a wide range of different types of involvement for health professionals in what is termed the assisted dying process. Health professionals who conscientiously object to assisted dying would expect to take no part in the process, yet a person who facilitates, supports and plays a necessary part in the practice may perceive themselves to share in the moral responsibility for it.

The experience of other jurisdictions highlights that doctors face considerable trauma, stress and ethical dilemmas as a result of assisted suicide legislation. For doctors, switching from medical interventions designed to prolong life to procedures designed to rapidly end life has profound consequences. Indeed, this Bill is in direct conflict with the moral and ethical duties of healthcare professionals, which focus on the avoidance of harm and the safety of patients. True assisted dying is the work of palliative care, which has at its core a genuine compassion and respect for human life. Actively assisting a patient to take his own life undermines the fundamental principles of doctor-patient relationships irrevocably and harmfully.

A 2019 paper in the Palliative & Supportive Care journal reported the experience of doctors in the US and the Netherlands and found that almost half of all doctors surveyed described experiencing significant psychological and emotional distress after participating in the assisted death of a patient. About half of those doctors reported a

“significant ongoing adverse personal impact”.

Doctors reported feeling a sense of loneliness, shame and guilt, which manifested itself in sleepless nights, exhaustion and poor mental health. One said:

“I felt very lonely. I couldn’t share that with anyone ... I felt powerless and alone.”


I am aware that some suggest that under the conscientious objection clause medical professionals will not be required to be involved and they can exercise their conscience rights. However, we all know in other jurisdictions how this has worked. For example, conscience is protected by the Canadian constitution and statute but nevertheless hospice facilities have been closed for refusing to offer assisted dying on their premises and healthcare professionals have felt undermined and unable to fulfil their calling to care for the sick and dying.

The Bill fails to protect both vulnerable people and medical professionals and for these reasons and many others besides, I strenuously oppose it.