B

Baroness Lawlor (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 13 March 2026

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

I thank the noble Baroness for that, but I point out that the Netherlands has many significant problems to do with various aspects of its legalisation of certain medical actions and operations. I will not go into them, but other countries are suffering from a fallout of what is happening, especially those on a rail service from Amsterdam. If we leave the door wide open, it can happen. A doctor may only be raising the possibility, but a patient may be more swayed by a doctor’s opinion than their own. Indeed, where no pressure is intended, the pressure may be there none the less. The position of trust can therefore survive only if the doctor recognises that their normal role is limited to supporting the health of the living, helping the patient to live life as fully as possible by managing an illness or its symptoms or coping through the ups and downs of treatment. Participating in assisting suicide, for those doctors who agree to do so, is an extraordinary non-doctorly role that they should enter into only at the self-initiated request of the patient.

More from Baroness Lawlor (Con)

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

Partner sites