Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Debate between Lord Carter of Haslemere and Lord Carlile of BerriewFriday 23rd January 2026
(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-26 View all Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Amendment Paper: HL Bill 112-VII(a) Amendments for Committee (Supplementary to the Seventh Marshalled List) - (22 Jan 2026)
Lord Carter of Haslemere (CB)
I am very grateful to the noble and learned Lord for his explanation of informed consent. There is a little doubt as to whether giving people lots of information, leading to an informed wish, actually encapsulates them fully understanding it. I was wondering: is the answer to this not to put in a definition of informed consent? Would that not be sensible? Then it is there in black and white. I have it here—AI is very helpful sometimes, is it not? “Informed consent is a process where a person voluntarily agrees to medical treatment, research, or a procedure after receiving and understanding all relevant information, including risks, benefits, alternatives and consequences, and they have a capacity to decide and are free from pressure”. There is a beautiful little definition that you could put straight into the definition section, and everyone would be happy.