Speeches by Kruger.

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving me a very clear answer. I just want to be totally clear that we understand each other. Is she saying that every doctor facing a terminally ill patient—someone who is eligible under the Bill—should make clear to them that they have the option of an assisted death?”

“The hon. Lady says that the GMC states that doctors have an obligation to raise the treatment options before them, and I think that she thinks that this is a treatment option. Surely the obligation is on doctors to raise assisted dying in all cases where it may be an option for the patient. Does the hon. Lady agree tha…”

“It is welcome that a commitment has been made to meet my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire, who tabled the amendment, but a commitment to consult is not the same thing as specific protections in the Bill for people with Down’s syndrome. What we really need is a commitment in the Bill that there will be st…”

“I hear what the Minister says—the guidance does not exist and there is concern that the amendment may therefore induce some confusion—but would the answer not be to put a commitment into the Bill that the Secretary of State will issue guidance on how the 2022 Act could be applied in the context of the Bill? In the ligh…”

“I was not asking for cases in which it might be the right choice for somebody—I recognise the argument there. I am asking when it might be appropriate for a doctor to suggest it. In the case of the Malone family, if this law had been enforced, they would have requested it themselves. Again, I want to know under what ci…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Member for highlighting that. I disagree with the BMA—I think that its idea of balance is actually an incoherence in the Bill. I note that the BMA elsewhere has suggested that assisted dying should not be regarded as a normal healthcare option or treatment. It is itself a victim of the confusi…”

“That is absolutely right. Either this is a medical treatment—in which it should be obligatory for a doctor presented with a patient who qualifies under the Bill and has the symptoms that we are talking about to say, “By the way, there is also this option”, which is what I think my right hon. Friend the Member for North…”

“I recognise that it is an attempt to give maximum leeway to doctors. I think that is dangerous and puts doctors in a very difficult position. The BMA made the point that it is appropriate to enable doctors to raise this option as if it were just another treatment, even though it has also said it is not just another tre…”

“I think my hon. Friend is suggesting that a doctor should suggest assisted dying as an option in every case, because if he is suggesting that a reasonable patient would want to know this towards the end of their life, he is saying that every dying patient should be told, “What about assisted dying?” That is a very conc…”

“I recognise that, but I repeat that by offering antidepressants, he is suggesting to his patients that it may well be the right thing for them to do. He puts in front of his patients a menu of options, with a degree of advice according to his expertise, but if assisted dying is on the menu, that is because assisted dyi…”

“I am absolutely sure that is right, and I am grateful to the hon. Lady for making that important point. For anybody, but particularly for the vulnerable and those in distress, as people are towards the end of their life, for those who have had a terrible diagnosis, and for those who feel a burden and recognise that the…”

“Certainly, there are adverse consequences for all sorts of treatments, but putting assisted dying on the table and making it clear that this is an option for the patient can only be done, morally and legally, if the doctor thinks that it may be an appropriate treatment or intervention for the patient. Otherwise, if we …”

“Indeed, it is not a recommendation; but in laying out this option for the patient, the doctor is clearly communicating that it might be the right thing for the patient to do and that it might address their needs. If the suggestion is that they are making a suggestion that might not be good for the patient, then that is…”

“This is an important debate to have, because the clear implication of a doctor making a recommendation is that this option would be good for the patient. It is one of many—”

“I hope that the hon. Member is not suggesting that all 600 would be averted by the Bill. He might be right that some would be, and I recognise that. However, the purpose of amendment 270 is to ensure that people who might be suicidal receive an assessment, whether they are inclined to apply for assisted death, if it is…”

“I am afraid that that seems to be the strong impression that many groups have. I will quote quickly from a submission that we have received from someone at the National Down Syndrome Policy Group, Fionn Crombie Angus. I am not sure whether Fionn has Down’s syndrome, or is perhaps a parent, but the point is a striking o…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Lady and am sure that that will be welcomed. It does rather go back to the point that the organisations made at the outset, which is that they wish they had had more consultation earlier on, but I understand why that was not possible in all cases.”

“I rise to speak to new clause 6, in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull West and Shirley; to amendment 368, in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire; to amendment 270, in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison); and to amendment 278, in …”

“Last intervention, I promise—maybe. I do not mean it is my last intervention ever, just in this speech—no, in this minute! An amendment was tabled by the hon. Member for Richmond Park that would have replaced clause 3 altogether, and that would have been understood as a parallel system—which would be appropriate becaus…”