Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Friday 16th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I had intended to speak about new clauses 1 and 10, but I will restrict myself to new clause 1 for the sake of time. New clause 1 says:

“No health professional shall raise assisted dying…unless that person has first raised it.”

If the patient does not mention the issue and specifically ask for it, the doctor would be entirely prohibited from even mentioning it. That is problematic for many reasons. It goes against good medical practice, and is actively opposed by the British Medical Association. For me, the new clause would undermine the hard-won rights of people to be fully informed of their medical options, and would make the application of the Bill unfair and unequal, to the detriment of marginalised people in particular.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

Just this week, the Health and Social Care Committee heard from vulnerable service-users who talked about white coat syndrome—that people are more likely to be pushed into options when given them by medical professionals. That is the concern behind the amendment. I do not know how I will vote on the Bill, but I am minded to support the amendment because of what I have heard from people from vulnerable communities.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. Interventions also need to be brief.