Sarah Olney

Sarah Olney

Liberal Democrat — Richmond Park

Speaking in the House of Commons on 20 June 2025

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

I am sorry, but I will make progress. We would all have been better served by asking a team of experts to evaluate the evidence, draw on their professional experience and come to a settled consensus among themselves on this point about mental capacity and, likewise, the questions we had about how best to approach anorexia within the context of assisted dying and whether the Bill provides a suitable framework for the provision and control of drugs designed for the ending of a life. These are not political decisions. They have, however, been decided by politicians, and we have approached them in our usual adversarial way, where the right answer is not the one arrived at after careful thought, consideration and consultation, but the one that can muster the most votes. We have therefore reached a most unsatisfactory conclusion. This legislation imposes duties and responsibilities on professionals who do not think them compatible with their expert practice. It was amended in Committee to require that a panel approve an application for assisted dying, and that the panel include a psychiatrist. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has stated that it opposes this legislation.

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