L

Lord Winston (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 23 January 2026

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

I will not give way. I will answer at the end. I have almost finished what I have to say. The fact of the matter is that this is not a true argument. There are many examples. In my practice, probably about 60% of the time when people came to my clinic, and it was always true even when IVF was successful, I refused them treatment. I refused to treat them, not because there was no money or we could not afford to treat them, but because I thought the treatment would increase their distress because it was so unlikely to be helpful. When that happens to people, it is a kind of death within them, but they have the great advantage that they can mourn that death and overcome it by doing other things. Unfortunately, in this situation, when people are dying in the way they are, often horribly, there is something that we need to try to do purely out of compassion.

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