Assisted Dying Bill [HL]

Viscount Bridgeman Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 22nd October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Bridgeman (Con)]

My Lords, I was called away and only heard the impressive speech by the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, and four others, so I crave your indulgence if I cover points already made. I want to speak briefly on two overseas jurisdictions about which much has been said in the current debate—Canada and Oregon.

A Bill was introduced in Canada in 2016 to legalise assisted dying. Like similar measures introduced elsewhere, it was originally tightly drawn. However, in March 2021 the law was expanded to those with indefinite years to live, and in less than two years it will be further extended so that those with mental illness will be eligible for assisted dying.

Like many noble Lords, I received a passionate letter from a general practitioner, this one in Montreal. He writes:

“I just know how dangerous it is when killing patients becomes part of the healthcare system.”


He goes on to say:

“Physicians are not God. Errors in diagnosis for severe life-threatening conditions can be as high as 20%... and a recent Canadian study found that close to a third of patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer who died by assisted suicide did not have a biopsy-proven diagnosis of lung cancer. This is what happens when the door is opened to assisted suicide.”


Oregon is quoted as a model example of how assisted suicide is operated successfully. Its Death with Dignity Act, like all laws of this nature, is a law that dares not speak its name. It started, as in Canada, tightly drawn. However, an article published by a Swedish researcher reveals a loophole which I suggest could have far-reaching implications. The researcher asked the Oregon Health Authority a question regarding someone who had a chronic and incurable illness, such as diabetes, which could be managed with medication, but who chose to stop the treatment and as a result was likely to die within six months. Would that patient qualify for assisted suicide under the Act? The answer given by the OHA was: “Yes, that patient would qualify.”

The wider availability under the Oregon law has been known for the last two years at least, and no attempt has been made by campaigners in Oregon or elsewhere, or, I suggest, in this Bill, to close that loophole. My simple message is that should this Bill go to Second Reading, this apparent anomaly will be addressed—the anomaly between the six-month limit as stated in the Bill and the indefinite limit of other diseases, which can be just as crucial.