Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Simon Hoare Excerpts

Friday 16th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kim Leadbeater]

I am going to finish, if I may, because other people want to speak.

Amendment 14, which was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah)—another outstanding member of the Committee—states:

“A person who would not otherwise meet the requirements of subsection (1) shall not be considered to meet those requirements solely as a result of voluntarily stopping eating or drinking.”

I suspect the amendment has been put forward as a result of the lengthy discussions in Committee regarding whether people with anorexia would be eligible for an assisted death under the Bill. In my previous career before becoming an MP, I worked with a number of people with eating disorders. I am very aware of the hugely sensitive and complex issues surrounding disordered eating, particularly anorexia. I also know that this is a personal issue for a number of colleagues across the House, as a result of their own experiences. Eating disorders cause huge distress for individuals, their families and loved ones, but with care and the right treatment, it is possible for people to recover and to go back to leading a full and fulfilling life.

[Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con)]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right on the matter of eating disorders, but my understanding of the amendment is that it relates to those who effectively starve themselves into a position of becoming terminally ill without having an eating disorder—that is the thrust of the amendment. Does she see that, and how does she intend to respond to it?

--- Later in debate ---

I tabled my amendments because I believe it is important, on Report, to accept that the Bill may become law and to make it the best law we can make it. This particular phase of the process can only be a safeguard if we enable the panel to do its job properly. The Bill’s provisions are currently defective in that respect and it is extraordinarily important that we make them effective in order for the panel to do its job properly.

[Simon Hoare]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I do not wish to be flippant or to test the patience of the House, but we have just heard an important speech from a former Attorney General on some key legal points. This is still a private Member’s proposal. How can the promoter of the Bill, the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater), respond to whether to accept amendments to her proposed legislation if she is not in the Chamber to hear the arguments? Is it not a discourtesy to the House and those who have spent some considerable time working on amendments, on both sides of the argument, for her not to be here to hear what they are advocating?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I thank the hon. Member for his point of order, but he will know that that is not a matter for the Chair.

I remind the House that although there is no formal time limit, many Members wish to contribute in this very important debate and it would be helpful if Members could keep their remarks to within the eight minutes that was suggested.