Speeches by Campbell.

“I beg to move amendment 125, in clause 4, page 2, line 35, leave out from start of line to end of line 36 and insert “who is on the Register of Assisted Dying Medical Practitioners.” This amendment provides that only a medical practitioner who is on the Register of Assisted Dying Medical Practitioners as provided for i…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) on securing this debate. Menopause is a biological process that marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle and fertility, and it typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. It …”

“A very quick question: does the hon. Member agree that the weight of a doctor’s words weighs heavily on patients?”

“Amendment 124 would prevent a registered medical practitioner from discussing the provision of assistance under the Bill unless it is first raised by the person themselves. This is very similar to another discussion we have had. The reason for my amendment is that the doctor will be suggesting, offering or endorsing as…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Amendment proposed: 9, in clause 2, page 1, line 24, after “reversed” insert “or the progress controlled or substantially slowed”.—(Rebecca Paul.) This amendment would mean that illness, disease or medical condition etc, the progress of which…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“I have almost finished, so I will carry on. If we give doctors the essentially impossible task of proving that death will inevitability occur in six months, there is a risk of an individual being advised to stop treatment, to accelerate them artificially into a serious or terminal state or speed it up to ensure their e…”

“The amendment would change the definition of what it is to be terminally ill, from having an “inevitably” to a “typically” progressive illness, disease or medical condition that cannot be reversed by treatment. The limits of medicine, and where they manifest in our healthcare system, have been repeatedly discussed and …”

“I beg to move amendment 123, in clause 2, page 1, line 23, leave out “an inevitably” and insert “a typically”. This amendment changes the definition of what it is to be terminally ill from having an “inevitably” to a “typically” progressive illness, disease or medical condition that cannot be reversed by treatment.”

“I want to go back to the point about making the Bill more complicated by putting layer upon layer on it. My hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West spoke about health inequalities and how not everyone is given the same advice to the same level. If we were to introduce a palliative care specialist we would guarantee th…”

“To reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud, I understand that the writers, promoter and sponsors of the Bill want it to be as simple as possible. The thought is that if we make it as simple as possible, there is less room for confusion and misinterpretation, but there are times when we can make things so simple t…”

“rose—”

“I thank my hon. Friend for looking that up so swiftly. I still think that those additional words need to be included in the Bill. “Coercion” and “pressure” are used as a catch-all for manipulation, but the Bill does not allow people who are using it in their everyday life—doctors, clinicians, nurses and social workers—…”

“I absolutely agree that we do not want people not to understand what the Bill allows them to do or not do. We spoke earlier about making the Bill simple enough for professionals to understand so that they know how to deal with particular instances, but it is not here to make life easy for professionals; it is here to e…”

“I have a question for the promoter of the Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley. We are having a lengthy conversation about coercion and pressure, and whether those two words are a catch-all for things that can be much more subtle and nuanced. That is the point of the amendment, and it is the point that I wil…”

“I rise to speak to amendments 113 to 115 and 118 to 121, which would require steps to be taken to establish that a person seeking assistance has not been manipulated by another person. The amendments would require the co-ordinating doctor to ascertain whether, in their opinion, the person has been manipulated, and woul…”

“To go back to the amendment, we were talking about the Mental Capacity Act. The use of that Act must be drawn into question, because it was never intended as legislation for assisted dying. Much of what has been said in favour of using the MCA relates to it being tried and tested, and people understanding it, and the i…”

“I beg to move amendment 109, in clause 1, page 1, line 17, after first “and” insert “demonstrably”. This amendment reflects the changes in Amendments 110 to 112 that change the requirement from having to establish that a person who wishes to end their own life under the Act has clear, settled and informed wish, to a cl…”

“The amendment would strengthen the Bill by establishing a benchmark for the level of understanding of assisted dying and its process that the person needs to demonstrate to start the process. That will help to ensure that the person requesting assisted dying understands what they are asking for, so that doctors and oth…”

“I still think that it is important to add “demonstrably”. The word should be included; I do not see that it would create any additional confusion. The right hon. Member for North West Hampshire said that he had tabled some amendments later on in the Bill. However, that is later on. Putting in “demonstrably” here would …”