L

Lord Harper (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 13 March 2026

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

I will press the noble and learned Lord on that point. The ability for medical professionals to discuss this with patients is prescribed in the first part of Clause 5, but only “in accordance with this Act”. If you were a medical professional and a child raised this with you, and you started discussing it, would you not be obliged, under your legal and professional suicide prevention duties to that child, to take steps to protect them? Under the Bill, they would not be eligible to have an assisted suicide. I do not understand this—and the noble and learned Lord has not answered my question about what happens with adults—but if a child goes to a medical professional and starts suggesting that they want to end their life, that medical professional is under a clear duty to take steps to protect the life of that child and even to take steps to force that to be the case. Unless I am missing something, nothing in the Bill will change the legal and professional duties on that medical professional.

More from Lord Harper (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