L

Lord Gove (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 16 January 2026

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

My Lords, I will take just a minute or two. Words matter. In America, in legislation similar to that which we are entertaining, it is known as “medically assisted suicide”. Similar terminology is used in Switzerland. Those are both jurisdictions that have informed this debate. Recently, in the British Medical Journal, a physician who works in Scotland made this compelling point: “The phrase ‘assisted dying’ creates confusion and is poorly understood … just 43% of respondents” in opinion polling “thought ‘assisted dying’ involved the provision of lethal drugs to end somebody’s life”. Fewer than half of the public understood what was meant by this legislation. He went on: “The majority believed the term meant withdrawing life-prolonging treatment or providing hospice-type care”. If so many of the public have the wrong view of this legislation, how can it possibly not be of assistance for us to use plain language on a matter of such moment?

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