Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Debate between Baroness Butler-Sloss and Baroness Hollins

Committee stage
Friday 13th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)]

My Lords, I remind the House of the extraordinary common sense of the noble Baroness, Lady Cass, who pointed out that there may well be a lack of suitable doctors of one sort or another, and they may have to put up with what actually is the reality.

[Baroness Hollins (CB)]

My Lords, I fully endorse the amendments from my noble friend Lady Finlay, and I think they deserve rereading. There has been a huge misunderstanding of what she actually described. This was not something drafted on the back of an envelope: it is based on years of work spent thinking about how it could work. Her amendments simplify and strengthen the Bill, making the whole process more transparent and more likely to be subject to evidence-based improvement in future, if an assisted death service is approved. My noble friend’s amendments may go some way to addressing the continuing concerns of the medical royal colleges.

However, my main amendments in this group concern the regulation of substances proposed for use in assisted dying. I recently co-authored an editorial in BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care called Untested, Unlicensed, Unregulated: Prescribing and Oversight Issues in Physician-assisted Dying/Suicide. I thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for tabling amendments that attempt to address these matters. My amendments would amend his Amendments 624A and 708A.

In this country, drugs intended for clinical use are subject to evaluation and oversight by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the MHRA, which assesses their efficacy, quality and safety before they can be licensed for human use. These frameworks were specifically designed to ensure that drugs used in healthcare meet appropriate evidence and safety standards before they reach patients. I ask the noble and learned Lord why he is reluctant to rely on the established regulatory framework, and instead proposes the development of a separate framework specifically for substances used in assisted dying. My amendments to his amendments, as well as my Amendments 699 and 709, propose that the Secretary of State, when specifying a substance in regulations, must have regard to recommendations of the MHRA and that the established committee is required to report to the MHRA.