Speeches by Woodcock.

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“I am taking that as a no.”

“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…”

“Let me just clarify. The state’s own report in 2023-24 had 35%. Professor Blake: We have in a place a system whereby at least 20 case studies are examined by the board every year to look at the reasons behind the taking up of the option. As a means of checking up on how the system is working, that has proven to be very…”

“Q This question is for Meredith Blake. Does it concern you that a large proportion of people who opted for assisted dying cited being a burden as their reason? Professor Blake: That is not the evidence that we have got.”

“I was merely suggesting that the direct evidence from Oregon is that being a burden is something that might come from a lack of decent social care, and it might be encouraging people to make the decision to seek assisted dying—but fair enough.”

“Q My question is to Dr Griffiths and Chelsea. We have had almost two days of evidence. Yesterday afternoon, we had practitioners from the States and, this morning, we had practitioners from Australia. The message they gave seemed to be very clear that coercion essentially does not happen in voluntary assisted dying. Th…”

“Q Mr Royston, I am interested in what you had to say about palliative care and poverty. A concern of people who have spoken to the Committee has been the impact of introducing assisted dying in an era when palliative care is so patchy. Often, someone’s finances and personal income are linked to the level of care they g…”

“Q Ms Hadi, at the start you said, “Nothing about us without us.” With regard to your previous testimony, I am interested to know how you feel that disabled voices have been heard, if they have been heard, in this process. What gaps have there been, if any? What can the Committee and the Bill do to fill those gaps? Fazi…”

“Q I accept the point. My challenge would be that we have heard a lot of evidence from a variety of people, and I think it is generally accepted that there is a difference in the availability of care across the country, particularly for people of certain ethnic backgrounds or who are deprived, which means that someone c…”

“Q Dr Mullock, during your oral evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee you recommended focusing on Oregon’s approach in particular. Do you have any concerns about the number of people in Oregon who cite being a burden as their reason for choosing assisted dying? Dr Mullock: I think this is incredibly complicat…”

“Q The issue of coercion came up with our previous witnesses, and they were talking about GPs, doctors and nurses being able to spot it because of their level of training, experience and so on. How frequently does coercion, or lesser versions of it, such as familial pressure and societal pressure, come up in the day-to-…”

“Q It seems clear from what you are saying that in your view, coercion is rare, or at least it is rare in comparison to familial pressure not to go ahead with assisted dying. It does sound, though, like you are saying that it is more common for people to say that they feel as though they are a burden towards the end. I …”

“Q Coercion is one of the main issues that people who are concerned about the Bill raise in opposition to it. That would include myself. We had many distinguished witnesses this morning, and the view was that coercion is “rare” in healthcare generally. It was almost given across that we did not need to worry about it, b…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. A further example is the village of Charlbury, where there is an installation called South Hill solar farm, a community-owned solar farm providing energy to 1,200 residents. It is an incredibly popular and well-run scheme. It is in an area of outstanding natural bea…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) for securing this debate. He gave a really long speech of considerable depth. I am not going to repeat that, purely because I do not want to repeat any of the things he has said in such detail. I am grateful for the debate because it offe…”

“I do wish to make a brief contribution. I am broadly sympathetic to the fact that there is considerable public interest in the Bill, so we would all broadly welcome as much public scrutiny as possible of all its aspects. However, I think the hon. Member for East Wiltshire made a meal of his argument, talking about the …”