Speeches by Woodcock.

“My hon. Friend quotes Dr Rachel Clarke. I was profoundly moved by her evidence. She was very clear that she wanted to talk about the NHS as it is, not as we would like it to be. Despite the efforts the Government are putting into bringing down waiting lists, there is still extreme time pressure on doctors. There are ex…”

“I think we all accept that prognosis is quite difficult, but one reason why I think this is fundamentally important is that a member of my constituency Labour party was given a prognosis of 12 months in 2012. Last year, they were out delivering leaflets for me in the general election. That is why it is so important tha…”

“My hon. Friend is making a very powerful argument. She is absolutely right to focus on protecting the vulnerable people who this law might apply to. She has touched on medics. I also want to mention the state and its role in what we are talking about. For example, I am opposed to capital punishment, and I link this dis…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way while he is in full flow. One of the areas that I have been confused about in this debate is that the Minister said—I have no reason to dispute it—that coercion is a clear term, so the courts know where they are with it, because they are already dealing with it. Howeve…”

“On the point of people feeling that they are a burden, one moment that stood out in the oral evidence was that, although the Western Australian Government’s own statistics show that 35% of people opting for assisted dying cited being a burden as their reason for doing so, the practitioners who offer assisted dying to p…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way again, and I am sorry to interrupt her when her speech is in full flow. My response to the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough, which links to my previous point about Western Australia, is that we have been told throughout this process that clinicians can spot the …”

“I am grateful for this debate, particularly as lots of people who, on Second Reading, were happy to pass the Bill through to Committee wanted the debate to happen. We should all welcome that, as I know the promoter of the Bill, the hon. Member for Spen Valley, does. I am grateful that we are here. I will move away from…”

“While the oral evidence was divided on many things, I think there was unanimity that palliative care is in need of serious improvement across the board. I do not think a single witness said that palliative care was good across the country and could not be improved significantly. I mention that, linking back to the comm…”

“I think I had got to the end of it. I will let you carry on, sir.”

“I will do my best to abide by that, Ms McVey. My recollection of the oral evidence is that the practitioners from California made it very clear that there was not a great deal of coercion, but they had seen families put undue pressure on people to prevent them from pursuing assisted dying. Given human nature, I find it…”

“The Royal College of Psychiatrists highlights that a person’s capacity can change and is decision-specific. It therefore says that the Mental Capacity Act is not suitable for the Bill. What is the hon. Member’s response?”

“I believe that what the hon. Member has just espoused, and what has prompted this amendment, is the sort of thing that would have come out if we had had an impact assessment. If this were a Government Bill, some sort of consultation would have flagged up the potential issues ahead of the next stage. I believe that that…”

“My hon. Friend the Member for Stroud, in his rebuttal to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West, described assisted dying as “medical care”. Personally, I do not regard assisted dying as medical care. Does my hon. Friend agree?”

“We all understand the evidence of the chief medical officer and why he and others, including Members here, prefer the use of the Mental Capacity Act. It is understood by doctors and it is used every day. What this debate is fundamentally about is that assisted dying is not done every day. It is not something doctors ar…”

“Earlier, the hon. Member for Solihull West and Shirley made a point about public confidence in the Bill. In oral evidence, the representatives from the Royal College of Psychiatrists—we nearly did not hear from them; we had a vote about whether we would, and they were added later—made it clear that they have severe dou…”

“During the oral evidence, we heard from three sets of psychiatrists who all cast doubt on the suitability of the Mental Capacity Act for decisions such as assisted dying. Is the hon. Lady’ s amendment an attempt to alleviate those doubts and put that right in the Bill?”

“Further to those points of order, Ms McVey. My point of concern is similar to the one just raised, and is about the fact that on Second Reading a key plank of this proposed Bill was about the role of the High Court judges. We are aware of an amendment coming via the promoter of the Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for S…”

“I will keep my comments brief. Every week when I am out in the constituency, I take the time to visit a farm, and this issue always comes up. It is concerning for many in my constituency. They are clear that it is not as though everything was ticking along nicely and then suddenly this hit; they were sold down the rive…”

“Q My question is for Claire Williams, about the drugs that are used in the various jurisdictions and how that interplays with your view on whether this law comes into place. What are your views on the drugs that would be put forward for assisted dying? Claire Williams: I am not familiar per se with the types of drugs t…”

“I am taking that as a no.”