Assisted Dying Bill [HL]

Page 1, line 10, at end insert-—

“( )   is requesting assistance to end his or her own life voluntarily.”

Page 2, line 28, at end insert- “or resulting from a sense of obligation or duty to
others to die”

Page 2, line 32, at end insert—

“( )     If the attending doctor or independent doctor has doubt as to a person’s
capacity to make a decision under subsection (3)(b) or (c), before deciding
whether to countersign a declaration made by that person the doctor
must—

(a)   refer the person for assessment by an appropriate specialist; and

(b)   take account of any opinion provided by the appropriate specialist
in respect of that person.”

Page 2, line 40, at end insert—

“( )     In this section “appropriate specialist” means a registered medical
practitioner (other than the attending doctor or independent doctor) who
is registered in the specialty of psychiatry in the Special Register kept by
the General Medical Council.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Voluntary request

For the purpose of this Act, a request for assistance with suicide may be
regarded as voluntary if—

(a)   the person seeking such assistance is acting of his or her own free
will and without coercion, pressure or duress from others or from a
sense of obligation or duty to others; and

(b)   the attending doctor and second doctor are satisfied, on the basis of
in-depth discussions with the person making the request and with
others close to him or her, that the request meets the requirements
in paragraph (a).”