Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Debate between Lord Mackinlay of Richborough and Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Committee stage
Friday 12th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lab)]

It is just such an obscure proposition that we should not determine our policy in relation to it.

Moving on to pregnant women, the amendments say that no pregnant woman should have the right to an assisted death and that everybody who wants an assisted death must have a pregnancy test. The noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, made it clear that the second was a probing amendment and not a serious proposition. In relation to pregnant women, I completely accept what is being said, particularly by my noble friend Lady Berger, about what the statistics show. Again, safeguards can adequately deal with this and I am not in favour of any change in relation to it. We should remember that what we are dealing with here is somebody who has only six months to live. Homeless people—

[Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Con)]

There is a big issue here. Other states around the world which have had assisted dying for some time have differences of view. In Oregon, which has had assisted dying since 1997, there is a requirement to keep the mother alive for as long as possible, particularly when there is a viable foetus. The Netherlands takes a completely different view, with foeticide—where the foetus must be terminated by one means or another, often by intracardial injection of potassium chloride—before the mother can be euthanised.

At which end of the scale does the noble and learned Lord prefer these things? The royal colleges are against this whole system, yet we will be relying on them to fill in the gaps in this legislation. It is incumbent upon us to fill in those gaps for them, because they are not keen on this.

[Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lab)]

The noble Lord puts it accurately. Some countries have taken one view and other countries have taken another. It is clear from the choice that I am supporting that we take the view that pregnancy should not be a bar to it, though inevitably, as the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, said, there should be questions in relation to appropriate people, whether they are pregnant or not, which may have an effect on the result. On the more detailed questions, based on what I am saying, they would not arise in the Bill.

Going on to the third category, homeless people, again with six months to live or less, will very frequently, as my noble friend Lady Gray said, have complex needs and complex lives. I am very strongly against that right to an assisted death being taken away from them, but the safeguards will apply, to be sure that it is their clear and settled view and not the product of coercion.

Finally, the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, raised the education, health and care plan. The range of people with an EHCP is very wide, as everybody knows. I am again very against excluding everybody from the significant provisions of the Bill, because the protections are there. They can go up to the age of 25 and, as I indicated last Friday, for people aged 25 and under we should think of whether there should be enhanced protection. That would include everybody up to the age of 25, including those under an education, health and care plan. In the light of those indications, I hope—

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Debate between Lord Mackinlay of Richborough and Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Committee stage
Friday 5th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Con)]

I raise a mirror to the noble and learned Lord regarding his comments in 2021 during the passage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. His view was very clearly that 21 is the unequivocal age of adulthood. I assume that he has heard the views across the Committee. The noble Baroness, Lady Lawlor, had an alternative—18, 25 and 21 were advanced. Would it not be a useful compromise if he were to declare to the Committee today that he would actively consider 21 as the right age—as he did when considering whole-life orders in a previous Bill? That would be very helpful.

[Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lab)]

On the comments that the noble Lord refers to, in relation to whether you should impose a whole-life term on somebody under 21, I recognise, as the Sentencing Council does, that issues of immaturity might make that inappropriate in certain cases. However, on this position, the question is: what is the age at which you might be capable of taking a settled decision? The concerns that the Committee has expressed about people aged between 18 and 25 make me think that the right course is to consider whether there are ways to deal with that that the House would feel are satisfactory on Report. I think that is the right course.