Speeches by Leadbeater.

“The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It feeds into comments that have already been made about how difficult we are making the process. I agree that this should be a difficult process—it should be a robust process, with thorough checks, safeguards and balances throughout—but we are in danger of forgetting the d…”

“I am going to finish, if I may. We need to be really careful that we take a person-centred approach, as happens now. Doctors, medical practitioners and healthcare professionals quite rightly take a holistic patient-centred approach. That approach will be further enhanced by the robust training the Bill incorporates, an…”

“On the point made by the hon. Member for East Wiltshire, the Bill does not replace what already happens, and what Dr Cox was saying was that those conversations are already happening in a multidisciplinary way. We do not take that away.”

“Actually, I have not said that.”

“The reality is that this Bill is both. Of course it is about personal autonomy, choice and dignity for people who are coming towards the end of their life, but it has to be safeguarded as well. It is both. If I may say so, I think that the hon. Member makes quite an unfair characterisation of the robust, powerful debat…”

“Would the hon. Member agree that the purpose of the Committee is to look at the Bill before us? That is why we are here. I understand his concerns, his reservations and his nervousness about what might happen in future, and that is an important conversation to have, but the purpose of the Committee is to look at the Bi…”

“I am not quite sure I understand the point. My point is that there is no law that is checking people’s motivations for ending their lives when they are terminally ill, and that is what this law would do. I will make some progress, and come to amendments 235 to 245. As we have heard from witnesses, choice at the end of …”

“I welcome the broader debate, but I am very conscious that the amendment does not actually use the word “burden”. It talks about someone “acting for their own sake rather than for the benefit of others.” Although the broader debate is welcome, it is important to look at the detail of the amendment.”

“Q3. Two years ago, from the Opposition Benches, I published my “Healthy Britain” report, recommending a cross-departmental approach to improving health and wellbeing. Now that we are in government, I am delighted that Ministers have hit the ground running—because running is obviously very healthy. Will the Prime Minist…”

“It is really important to remember that, at the moment, there is no legal framework that checks terminally ill people’s reasons for ending their lives or shortening their deaths. That is why having this legal framework is so important. During the oral evidence sessions, Sir Max Hill told us that in his experience of wo…”

“I am certainly not being dishonest, which is the hon. Lady’s implication. I refer back to the complexity of those conversations, and the fact that safeguards will need to be in place to check for coercion, dishonesty and pressure. Ultimately, it comes down to a question of autonomy, dignity and choice for patients, but…”

“Sorry, what was your question?”

“I, again, refer the hon. Gentleman to my previous points; we are oversimplifying a really complex conversation, which would take into account lots of different factors for each individual. That is all I will say on that point.”

“We are oversimplifying a complex situation and a difficult conversation. We have talked about coercion and pressure a lot. If someone says, “I just want it all to be over, because I feel like a burden”, that is the sort of conversation that doctors acknowledge would be a red flag. Those are complex, difficult conversat…”

“Very few cases are as straightforward as that, and that is where conversations with doctors and professionals are really important. I think it was the doctor from California who said that if someone said to him, “I am doing this because I am a burden,” that would be a red flag. There would have to be a much more detail…”

“This point is about training, and so about hearing from the right people when it comes to the training of professionals. It is important that we ensure that the Secretary of State must consult such people, and I anticipate that organisations such as the Association of Palliative Care Social Workers would be consulted. …”

“As someone who lives with someone who has a very severe morphine allergy, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that those things do exist and are very real, and they create a huge sense of fear in people. Having met a terminally ill woman who is also allergic to opioids, I think it is really important to acknowledge that th…”

“I will speak briefly because we have had a thorough discussion about these issues. I completely understand the sincere intention behind these amendments. It is clear from the fulsome discussion we have had that colleagues across the Committee agree that undue influence and manipulation should be covered by the Bill—as …”

“Surely, as I thought I heard the hon. Gentleman say on the radio yesterday morning, it is better to have expertise of this nature involved in the process. On the issue of coercion and the evidence that we received from psychiatrists—which was more in terms of capacity, but on coercion as well—and certainly from social …”

“I am concerned that the hon. Member did exactly what we are in danger of doing by saying, “Whether it’s under influence, whether it’s pressure, whether it’s coercion, whether it’s other things.” We are in danger of using these words interchangeably, as he just did. That is not what the law needs. The law needs certaint…”