Baroness Primarolo (Lab)

My Lords, I am very grateful to the hundreds of people who have written to me about their views on this Bill, both for and against. Many of the letters made for very difficult reading—goodness knows how difficult they were to write. We all have personal experiences of loved ones’ painful deaths in circumstances in which they were denied the choice of how they died and when. This is, of course, an important debate for the whole country. It is right that your Lordships balance legal and ethical considerations, the level of public support and the requirement for practical safeguards in legislation, while responding to clear signals from the majority that they support this Bill as drafted. I believe that, above all the considerations that we will discuss, there is one towering point: the fundamental right of the individual to exercise agency and autonomy over their own life. As the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, so eloquently put it, those choices are hard indeed and not taken easily. Denying the ultimate right to end one’s life in peace and dignity in the manner and circumstances of one’s choosing, when the alternative is so scary and appalling, is not being compassionate. We need to facilitate this Bill. I am reminded of when I was a Health Minister of the complex human interactions and how we tried to legislate, particularly when we undertook reforms in the embryology Bill. We took on the challenge, got the detail right and did not delay or deny the choice of those who seek this. The Bill is not a reckless attempt at unchecked freedoms; far from it. It provides measures that will offer carefully regulated paths to ensure that only those with a confirmed diagnosis of illness are covered by it. The imperative here for me is to respect human agency and autonomy. It is a travesty and ultimately wrong for the state or any other agent in civil society to intervene or to impose their values above the right of the individual to self-determination in circumstances where there is no perverse impact on the community. In a democracy, we must trust individuals to make informed decisions about their own bodies and lives. We must resist imposing our values on others when we have no right to intervene. To deny agency to those seeking the freedom to end their lives on their own terms is wrong. The greater good is not served by sacrificing the few to the pain and suffering they face. I support this Bill as it is drafted, and I will vote to resist any attempts to delay its passage through this House.