L

Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 6 February 2026

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

On the Act not applying, the noble Baroness is absolutely right that best interests never come into it, because if the patient does not have capacity, that is the end of the matter and they cannot have an assisted death. It is worth pointing out that the Bill says: “In this Act, references to a person having capacity are to be read in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005”. All this Bill is incorporating is the reference to capacity, not the second half of the Mental Capacity Act, which sets out what happens if you do not have capacity.

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